Soul Blades
by Zagarathian
Summary: A strange force is showing it's face in the lands after Nergal. What does these forces want Mark for? What is his connection with them? What about his mysterious past? Not everything is like as it appears. *ON HIATUS* because of issues...
1. Chapter 1: Awakening

**I don't own Fire Emblem or its characters. I don't own anything.  
**

Chapter 1: The Awakening

Mark, the famed tactician of Elibe, is currently traveling with his friends to save the world. There're a couple of things that one must know when approaching Mark. You don't get near him on a bad day. Err…that's about all you need to know really. He really is kind when he is in a good mood, which is anytime that is not near a battle. Now we approach the tent of Mark.

"_ARGGGG!_" Mark screamed from inside his tent. This brought the attention of most of the army. They all looked in his general direction before going back to what they were doing. This was common after a battle. When one of the troop members gets even the smallest wound (even a scratch from a branch) he would go ballistic about how he has failed to keep his charges safe. He would revert back to normal in a couple of hours, minutes if we're lucky, and maybe up to six hours if we are not.

Unfortunately this just wasn't meant to be our visiting day. Mark stormed out of his tent and went to Hector's tent. He quickly came out with a giant ax.

"Hector!" Lyn and Eliwood called out as they came by to see what was happening. "Why is Mark with one of your axes?"

"Beats me guys. We should see what he plans to do." Answered Hector wisely, before he added, "And I'll rip him a new cider jar for sneaking up on me like that."

Mark wandered to the nearest tree and took a breath. He then lifted up the ax with ease and proceeded to cut a large X through the tree. The tree creaked and started to fall but Mark spun around crying "Punishment" and cleaving the trunk. He then cried "Dual Infliction" and split the tree down the middle.

The three lords were just left there in shock. Hector broke the silence with, "And we don't let him fight again why?"

Mark suddenly took off towards the woods and the camp followed him. Yes, I mean the entire camp. They were actually wondering what Mark has gotten himself in this time.

By the time they had caught up, Mark was bare handedly wrestling a full grown wolf. He quickly let go of its jaws and rounded on it with a hook that sent the beast sprawling. He jumped on it and started to throttle it. He kept at it until the wolf started to cough up blood. He stopped for a minute and looked down at his quarry. The wolf seemed to speak but apparently only Mark could understand it.

_You are he who will run the river red with blood spilt by thy own two hands. This is only the beginning._

Mark got an evil glint in his eyes and said, "Your last words, and you waste them on threats. Weak ones at that." Mark then raised his hand and brought it down. His nails barely touched the wolf's neck but it was severed nonetheless. Blood was splattered everywhere and many of the girls screamed. Mark looked down at his hands and licked the blood. He suddenly froze up, shuddered, and fell face forward.

**Please review. If you compliment, then that's great. If you criticize, I'll use that to make my story better so thanks anyway.**


	2. Chapter 2: Realization

**My second chapter. I hope this has more humor in it. My sense of humor is considered wierd by many and for most, wierd at best.**

Chapter 2: Realization

Mark awoke the next morning to a beautiful day. It was glorious. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and he was going to get breakfast. What could be better?

He decided to visit his lords' tents and wish them a good morning. He found them in the planning tent. "Welcome my lords. It's another beautiful day. Let's go for some easy riding." He threw open the tent flaps, "Look at this, we've been impatient for the world around us. Gather everybody. We're going to learn the names of the trees around here."

"Um, Mark, did you remember yesterday?" Lyn asked.

"Of course I do. I was…" Mark remembered what happened yesterday. _We were sitting at a round table. Eliwood, Hector and I had monocles and we were all wearing really formal British clothing. Lady Lyndis was recounting her adventure with the …blah blah blah blih bloh._

To Lyn, Eliwood and Hector, he was singing "Jeremiah was a Bullfrog". "Mark, do you feel alright?" Eliwood questioned, fearing for his tactician's sanity.

"Of course, now let's go and learn the trees' names already."

Later that Afternoon

"You know Lyn, this is great. We all should really relax once in a while. It's nice to kick back after a tough battle. It's also great to rest after a full day of doing nothing."

"Mark, you realize that we have about three days to get to our destination right?"

"Yeah well…you snooze you lose. Beat that!"

"What are you going on about now?"

"No! You listen. I'm shick and tired of clam schowder…"

"Uh, Mark. Are you okay?" Lyn looked over to see Mark laying face down on the earth. Lyn approached cautiously and asked again. Noticing that he wasn't breathing she quickly ran for a healer.

She found Serra and Pricilla fairly quickly and they returned to the site to find Mark surrounded by Hell-Fangs. They were all surrounding him and were nuzzling him. Lyn unsheathed her Mani-Katti and started to slay the lupine/draconic/demonic creatures. The pack ran off and Mark was left unscathed, kind of .

When Mark awoke the next morning, he was aching all over. He reached around his neck and froze. He found a light scar on his neck. This only meant one thing. Mark has been marked.

**Mark's been marked. I told you I was considered wierd. Oh well, please review. It would be most appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3: Inheritance

**I got my first review! Yay, thank you Serene Shishkabob. No, the part of being marked was not intended to be a pun, but when I reread it I decided to leave it in there. I am glad that you thought it was funny. I hope that there are fewer errors in this chapter than the last.**

** Moonlight, I had difficulties on interpreting your comment as a good review or a criticism. Oh well, I thank you for writting it anyway.  
**

**Here's the chapter in this next episode.  
**

Chapter 3: Inheritance

Mark left his tent making sure to use his cloak to cover up the scar. What was he going to tell his companions? Even worse, what will they think? He found them all sparring each other just like any other day. He cleared his head and went to inspect the weapons and decided to deal with the problem when it arises.

Later during Lunch

It was very unusual. Mark was usually the last one to get the food because he believes that the fighters should get more sustenance and let them have first choice. Once they've all sat down, then he would join Lyn, Eliwood, and Hector to talk and eat with them. It was strange that he wasn't there today.

Neither Eliwood, Hector, nor Lyn have seen him that morning. After lunch, though, they spied him sitting on a rock writing in his journal as usual. Mark looked up and gave them a strangely sad smile.

"Come friends. I have important business I must speak with you." Now it was officially weird. Mark never talks like that. He was never really into formal speaking and he definitely hates businesses.

The three of them looked at each other before shrugging and headed towards him. They sat down on some rocks in front of the tree stump and waited to see what was so important. On the stump were Mark's journal, his ring, and his dagger.

"Four scores and seven years ago, I have no idea what this statement meant. I can truthfully say that today, I still don't know what it means." Mark said with a rather goofy grin. He continued, "However, all joking is now aside. I want you to make me a promise. One that you will follow through." He said in a dead serious voice.

"What's the promise?" Questioned Lyn who didn't exactly trust her most trustworthy tactician at the moment.

Mark looked at each of them in turn squarely in the eye. "Just promise me this one favor," Mark said with such an indescribable voice that all the lords could do was nod their heads. Mark's smile lit up his face once again and he resumed his cheerful voice.

"Alright, we all know that one day our time will be up. In case this happens to me, I just want to leave you guys with some things to remember me by." Spoke Mark as he pointed to each of the objects lying on the stump.

"Mark, we all know-" started Eliwood before Mark interrupted him.

"Eliwood, if it looks as though I'm beyond saving, please leave without me and take my possessions along with you. My book should contain enough information on tactics and strategies to get you by without me. Besides, you promised. No matter how reluctant you were."

The lords could only look at each others in solemn agreement. As soon as these thoughts passed their minds, an arrow flew out of nowhere and pierced Mark through the heart. They only saw that determined look in his eyes that clearly stated, _Honor your promise._ Bounded by their words, they could only take his items and evacuate the camp while footsteps sounded around them.

The camp was already packed up and ready to move by the time they got back. Eliwood issued the order to move out immediately. When they were about a mile away from their camp, they heard a dull clunk in the caravan. They opened it to find Ninian and her brother Nils bounded and gagged. Releasing them quickly they burst into a frenzy of tears and indecipherable language.

When they were finally calmed down, they recounted of what happened.

_Flashback_

_Mark was just about finished with the supply check when Ninian and Nils came running up to him. They sensed a dark force coming this way and it feels as if it was honing in on Mark specifically. Mark merely nodded his head and led them away._

_He went to the food supply and gave them some food before taking them to the caravan claiming that he wants to hear this in private. They naturally trusted and agreed with him. They went inside and the siblings told of how they sensed that he was in danger more than everybody. They worried how he was going to get injured. Mark merely had a look of mild disturbance and a non-caring look. _

_When they finished, Mark nodded, stood up, strode over to Nils, and pressed a pressure point on him that froze his body temporarily. Ninian could only look in shock before she was frozen too. He bounded them up and gagged them before locking up the caravan making sure to leave an air hole for them to breath._

_End Flashback_

Hector, Lyn, and Eliwood stared at the siblings, the entire camp, and at each other with gaping mouths. Mark knew of all of these things and he deliberately left out that he was going to die on that day. The entire camp mourned for their lost tactician and a valuable friend.

The Next Day

The army have made progress and moved about 6 miles from the site where they were at when Mark was left behind. They have not quite gotten over the fact that Mark was gone but they were making good progress. They told themselves that Mark would have been sad to see them sad and he would probably have given them extra training for even thinking like that.

Eliwood called Hector and Lyn to his tent to discuss what they were going to do next. Originally, they heard rumors of a dark force invading some villages, it seemed like a good idea to check it out at least, but with the loss of a tactician, they were, as Mark putted it, "Up a creek without a paddle."

The first thing they did was to analyze Mark's belongings that he left to them. The ring that he wore gave him a unique ability. He could see where opponents were placed, their items, and their attributes. He claims that it was given to him by a friend and that he has not mastered all of the ring's powers yet as he can't seem to penetrate darkness or fog that well.

The dagger that he carried around was pure silver at the blade and the handle was pure black. It was in its sheath with intricate designs and runes. Mark has only used this tool to cut food (i.e. fruits, vegetables, meats, etc).

The last possession was his book. They never really called it anything else except as "Mark's Book". This meant that they certainly have no idea what was in there until now. When they opened the book, they were met with a surprise. A letter was inside with Mark's official stamp, an orb with a devil's wing and an angel's wing, and his signature.

_Dear friends,_

_If you are reading this letter, then that means that I am no longer with you or that you snuck into my room and hoped to learn a few strategy from my book.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_----. Okay, I've realized that I will be going away soon and that I probably did something that I'll regret later in time. To Ninian and Nils, I'm very sorry I had to do that to you but I feel that if it really is my time, I shouldn't try to cheat death like I've led this entire army to. To the rest of the army, I'm really sorry I had to leave you all and all I ask is that you don't severely injure me when we meet up again, most likely in heaven, or you could visit me in hell. To my lords, I know that you must want to kick my arse and I must admit that I would probably want to do that to. My book should probably give you sufficient ideas to get out of whatever crazy battles you decide to take but I regret that I am unable to partake in such events or to witness your victory unless heaven or hell have TVs with picture-in-picture. I trust your decisions and I'll be behind you 100 percent of the way no matter what. Sorry if this sounds like a will, but that was what I was going for. What do you think?_

_Sincerely Yours,_

_Mark, Your forever faithful Tactician_

_P.S. As if I was going to tell you my last name._

The lords looked confused whether to laugh at the fact that Mark writes similar to the way he talks or to be sad that this was their last time hearing Mark's crazy mind, I mean, what the hell is a TV? Picture-in-picture, who would've come up with something like that? Well, they skimmed the book and saw that it was filled with notes and tips that Mark has written over his journey. There were also reasons and definitions and other translation that Eliwood and Lyn were pretty sure that Mark wrote for Hector. Mark always thought that Hector was good at fighting, but horrible at understanding concepts. That was untrue but Mark pretends not to notice all of Hector's good points in intellect.

There were also pictures of all of them in the book. Every member, except Mark, had several pictures in vivid descriptions. Some had arrows pointing to strong and weak points and many were in battle poses, but the majorities were pictures of them relaxing and having fun. There were also some in groups. They were looking through them when Eliwood stopped on a picture of Lyn.

"This is wrong," he said.

"Yeah, Lyn's figure isn't that nice, and her melons aren't that big." Hector just had to put in his two cents and it cost him. Lyn smacked him upside the head so hard he fell over. Afterwards she merely crossed her hands across her chest, looked down, and blushed.0

"No, Hector, I meant that Mark broke his word. He said that the rule of his position was that he must not get too close to us; otherwise he would forget his place and value our lives over the priority. From these pictures, it seems that he watches over us too closely, more than a mother hen would over her chicks."

The lords could do nothing but nod in agreement and headed out. They had to continue on with their lives no matter how hard it was. And it was about to get a lot harder.

**In this chapter, Mark says many things that should not have been in existance during that time. Since this site has help me learn new vocabulary, I thought to help others. The example in this story was several times where Mark mentions things such as TVs and Lincoln's famous speech. These are examples of anachronism.**

**An anachronism is anything, persons, events, or items, that are out of place in historical timelines.**

**Thank you for reading this far and I'll try to update soon.**


	4. Chapter 4: Proceeding

**Sorry everyone for not updating in so long. I was at first finding out how to make Mark's death more dramatic but then my retarded computer stops on me and so now I have to use my dad's computer. If everything goes smoothly, then I should be able to upload several more chapters tomorrow.**

Chapter 4: Proceeding

It has been about three months now since Mark's death. The group is moving slowly because Mark always knew what pace to travel at. It was really frustrating at first.

_Flashback_

_"I'll kill him. He kept this from us. Lemme at him, lemme at him."_

_"Hector, while I would give him a stern talking to, I would not want to beat up Mark. I'm very sure that he has a good reason."_

_"Well, for Mark's sake, I hope he has a good reason. Lyn looks like she's ready to castrate him. She's been sharpening her blade, working her heart out…why the hell is she pointing the sword at her self..."_

_"Quick someone stop her!!!"_

_End Flashback_

As we can see, Lyn was at the end of her rope. Mark was gone and everything was falling apart. Lyn was about to kill herself when she stopped. She merely looked down at her finger and walked away.

Mark's treasures were divided up by the three lords. By mutual agreement, Lyn received Mark's ring, Eliwood his book, and Hector his dagger. Silently, all three of them knew that Hector would not be able to use the book.

It was difficult, but they somehow managed. Lyn was hit hardest because she knew Mark the longest. Eliwood noticed her sadness one day and decided to help.

_Flashback_

_"Lyn, Lyn, LYN!"_

_"Oh, Eliwood, it's you. What do you want?"_

_"Come on, let's talk for a bit."_

_"About Mark?"_

_"Err... sure, if you want to. Um, Lyn why are you wearing the ring on that finger."_

_"You mean my ring finger? Is there something wrong?"_

_"Oh nothing, it's just a different custom from Pherae. Don't worry about it. Well, I'll see ya."_

_"Eliwood…?" _

_End Flashback_

Yes, Eliwood should have handled that a bit better but he was afflicted with what many guys have: the oblivious skill. Handy against charm, and like wise will get you nowhere in a relationship. He wasn't that much of a help in the end.

Whenever they enter into a city or some place with people, military leaders always seem to pick them out and ask for the Great Mark. They stopped calling him that after Hector's suggestion that Mark died and whoever says that he will come back and haunt. I wouldn't really put it past him either.

Luckily for them, they received news from a city near Bern. The people apparently saw dark shadows matching the description of the ones they have been searching for lurking in the nearby forest. They waited until near dusk before they saw a lone shadow weaving between the trees. It sensed them and gave a shrill cry before running off.

Lyn quickly looked through the entire area with the ring. They were covered by the trees only scarcely and the opponents were well hidden in the woods. Mounted riders would have a hard time traversing the terrain and pegasi and wyvern-riders would be picked off easy from the shielded opponent. No, the best bet was to use foot soldiers, even if they must move slower.

Most of the mounted unit stayed back at camp thought Eliwood insisted that he come along. The battle was maneuvering quite well for our heroes' path. The shadows were fast but they easily fell to the onslaught. Most of the time, a single slash would put one down. Eventually they came to the leader of the pack.

A bit taller than Eliwood but not quite as tall as Hector, Grepsle was a rather grotesque being. His skin was black while his eyes were blood red pools. White fur grew from his neck and spine, elbows, the back of his knees, from his chin forming a little beard. His face was stretched out into a muzzle/beak like appendage with two rows of sharp fangs protruding. He was unarmed but the claws he had on his hands and feet made up for the lack of man-made weapons.

"So you've come little lords. I've been expecting."

"You are quite polite for someone who've been stealing and disrupting the village," Hector said slowly.

"Well, you're no prize yourself, Mr. Hector. Yes I know of you and I've been warned of your ax, the Armads." And with that he gave a low chuckle. It was rather disturbing to say in the least. "Your tactician is no longer with you. You shall fall beneath my fangs." He gave a great roar and charged.

Despite the fact the he is bulkier than Hector; he moved nimbly and evaded most of their strokes. Eliwood had the hardest time because his horse kept on getting tripped by the roots. Eventually, Lyn saw through his attacks. After a while, he becomes a one trick pony. If he was a pony, he was ugly, I'll tell you that much.

His basic style was to charge at high speed towards anyone of them, gnashing anything that happens to be in his way. Hector also saw this and formulated a plan. He stood in one spot while Grepsle charged at him. Lyn and Eliwood looked in shock as Grepsle came hurtling down towards Hector. Hector put down his Armads and took out a tomahawk. He threw it towards Grepsle causing him to duck and before he could get up again, Hector jumped on him and did a very good rodeo impression.

The battle only ended when Hector saw that Grepsle could dislocate his limbs and were coming after him. He pulled out the only weapon he had left, which ironically was Mark's dagger, and was very disappointed. It was diminutive compared to any other respectable weapon but it was a weapon and he had nothing else to lose. He plunged it into the base of Grepsle's neck, severing his spine and effectively wounding him beyond salvation. Grepsle's last dying breaths were, "So, you've killed me little lords. This only be the beginning. I swear to you that the rivers shall run red with blood. Hehehe…"

Though those words, for unknown reasons, creep them out. Lyn walked up to the corpse carefully to make sure it was dead. Just to be safe, she took out her Sol Katti and attempted to fully sever his head. The blade was brought down but was deflected by his fur. After assurance from her friends, Lyn decided to leave the body and go back to the village. Perhaps they could find more information on this mysterious group.

They returned to find the village on fire and villagers screaming wildly. Floating above them was a dark shadow…

**Yes, so if you could kindly wait then the chapters will be up tomorrow. Hopefully**


	5. Chapter 5: Friend or Foe

**Thank you 'The Serene' for reviewing. I don't exactly know what a 'Mary Sue' is but I'll take your comment as a positive one. If it becomes like one, then can you point out where it is or, even better, advise me about it because I am clueless.**

Chapter 5: Friend or Foe

The dark shadow turned around slowly to reveal a mid-teen girl. She had rose-colored hair and red iris eyes. Her wings were black and leathery like a dragon's with clawed tips, but her most dominant features were her horns. From the sides of her head grew two horns curving like that of a ram's. She wore a rather skintight black outfit. Overall, after you get past the initial shock, she was quite pretty. Err…I mean.

Anyway, she floated down to them and spoke in a somewhat kind voice though you could tell that she was deriving pleasure from their fear and confusion.

"You are very well brave not to run from a demoness."

Hector chose this moment to spoke up for what was pretty much going through most of the guys' minds, "Yeah, well you are very well endowed miss." Most of the guys' eyes were straying below her chin. Lucius being holy was not one of them.

The demoness in question merely raised an eyebrow at him before smiling flirtatiously at the camp. She suddenly shouted at them, "Eyes forward soldiers."

Immediately, they all snapped to attention, those that were looking, and those that weren't only looked down and shook their heads in shame.

Lyn stepped forward to speak but before she could the strange girl spoke.

"Listen, my name's not important but I've come to give a message. If you have defeated ol' Grapply, then head west. There was an abandoned fortress about 15 miles or so from here. If you wish to proceed with your journey, then you should head there." With that, she took back to the sky. "Who knows, maybe we'll meet up again." She blew a kiss at them and took off into the night sky.

Once she left, the flames didn't die down but faded away. The same thing happened with the screaming villagers. The army couldn't do anything but wait until morning before they could figure out what happened to the fire.

The next day

After questioning the villagers, they found some very important information. It was hard and tough as Lucius was nearly mobbed by a crowd of men asking him to marry them. He was saved, though he probably needs trauma treatment for a while. They found out that there was neither a fire nor villagers wandering at night. It was all an illusion. Besides the fact that all villagers were accounted for, the lack of burn marks kind of give it away. Now why didn't they think of that before?

The next question at hand was about the mysterious woman. Many of the male troops were still gaga over her. Was she trustworthy though?

Eliwood spoke with his fellow lords, "We've run into a dead end. The only way to continue is to listen to what our strange guest had to say and travel west."

"Can we really trust her though?" Question Lyn. She didn't survive on the plains by listening to what everybody said.

"Perhaps we should travel slowly and divide the army in half. Should the area be a trap, at least we'll have back up." Spoke Hector wisely. The loss of Mark seems to make him wiser because he has to think in Mark's place more. Either that or with the loss of Mark also took away some rather degrading statements made about Hector's IQ. Mark means well and usually jokes around about that so no harm done, but does his statement actually lower the views of Hector's intelligence? Does everything we say have an effect on how we view things?

They couldn't just stand around and do nothing. Well, maybe they can, but that would be boring. Anyway, after some more discussions, they decided to head out to the designated area and take their chances. There wasn't much else to do. They headed out to a fated encounter.

**Okay, this chapter was pretty short but it was needed and important. Someone new was introduced and now they know where to go. I hope that many people are enjoying this story, though I would know for sure that they enjoy it if they can kindly write a review. Hopefully my grammar is improving. If it is not improving, then I'm just going to go and sulk under a rock and upload from there.**

**P.S. I do not have a crush on the new character. Someone mentioned it and someone else might so I just want to clear this up. We have nothing going on.**


	6. Chapter 6: Chanced Familiarity

**Okay, fulfilling my promise earlier, here is another chapter. It gets kind of confusing from this point onward, but hopefully I'll be able to answer your questions, should you have any, about the logics of this story. As usual, please note any errors on this story like punctuation or spelling or even plot holes. I really want to get better as a writter.**

Chapter 6: Chanced Familiarity

They headed towards the abandon fortress just like the girl said. It was your run of the mill fortress: old, dark, dank, looked as though it wasn't used in years. The odd thing was that Lyn could sense no concealment of their opponents. In fact, she saw that they could make their way to the leader without having to fight all of the underlings. She knew that they could see them approach and alert the others at anytime, but from the way they were positioned, it would have given them plenty of time to reorganize into a formation.

After relaying this to Hector and Eliwood, the three decided to enter with a small group and end this quickly with a routing of the boss. It was nightfall before they got close and were wary that their opponents had the upper advantage. They had the full moon to guide them, but Lyn saw that they were composed entirely of beast-types, of hell-fangs mostly. Their leader was a large wolf but that was all she could tell.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they entered the castle, they were greeted with warmth. A couple of nearby beasts had taken torches and lit their way. It was almost as if they wanted the group to proceed further. Paying close mind to these strange actions, they cautiously moved forward being silent as possible as not to accidentally give away their plan of attack.

Matthew had separated from the group and went splurging himself on the chests scattered around the landscape. He was filled with glee as he searched and looted. He also found that the enemy won't attack unless he actually walks up to one and attacks. He didn't actually test out his hypothesis but saw that he moved awfully close to them and escaped unscathed.

As the leading group neared the final corner of the dungeon, Nils and Ninian gasped.

"A danger is coming fast!" Cried Nils. He was cut off as they rounded the final bend to see a large hell-fang barreling down on them at high speed. In its direct line of fire was Ninian and Nils. The others raised their weapons to aid their companions, but before they could act, a brown blur shot forward knocking the opponent off his feet. Glaring down at the attacking hell-fang was the leader wolf. It just tackled its own ally to save the two children.

The hell-fang got up and growled at its leader. The leader just looked at him and the lesser dog limped to his original position with whatever dignity he had left. The wolf then turned to the lords and growled a warning sign. It clearly meant, "If you are the lords Eliwood, Hector, and Lyn, then I am here to face you." It also added the titles to the individual lords' name: Eliwood of Pherae, Hector of Ostia, and Lyn of the Plains. This was a little harder to decipher and was written like this because it made the most sense this way. For all anyone could have known, he could have said, "Belly-wool of Fay's hay, Collector of Bossing All, and Lyn the Insane."

The wolf was significantly smaller than the others and looked like a wolf this time instead of being partially draconic or having multiple heads. It looked like a wolf with its fur around its neck being ruffled up forming a small mane around his head. If someone were to have planned this out, it would have been this wolf. But that can't be right, hell-fangs, much less wolves, shouldn't be able to make complicated plans. Plus they would always welcome a meal. Some thing was up and it was up to them to figure it out before they get too mutilated.

The wolf took a stance before rushing forward to attack. The lords easily stepped aside to avoid and turned around just in time to see the beast rebounding back on them. It was a couple minutes before they saw something else weird. The beast had misjudged his jump and was heading straight for Serra when he quickly tilted to the side and avoided a collision. He, however, had sustained and injury to his side when, if he had smashed into the cleric, would have taken less damage.

After a while they saw that he timed his movements more accurately. He avoided everyone completely save the lords. They easily outflank, outnumber, and out powered him but he would not give up. His golden eyes burned with a determination that was lost on many and only a few retained. They haven't met anyone with this determination since…

"LYN!" Hector and Eliwood and everybody else screamed.

She was knocked to the side by a tackle from the wolf. Not wanting to risk Lyn's health any longer than necessary, Hector rushed forward with his ax swung horizontally. The wolf just jumped on the ax and rode it to the other side before jumping off. Serra was already at work healing Lyn.

This went on for a while with the opposition only and always looking. Humiliating was the word Hector was looking for in the later years. They had three fighters versus one lone wolf and they were losing. The wolf suddenly jumped back and lowered his head. Behind him, the first rays of light shone through and fell on his pelt.

What happened next startled any who saw it so much that they still had difficulties accepting it afterwards. The fangs shrunk back and became smaller. Fur retreated back into the skin revealing clothing underneath. His paws turned back to gloved hands and booted feet. His ears returned to normal though his eyes remained that same disturbing gold color. His mouth shrunk to a normal human's mouth and the fur around his neck disappeared to reveal a rolled up cloak. As soon as the fur was gone, the cloak unfurled and reached the ground. No one believed what they saw next.

Standing in front of them, dressed in his usual green cloak… was Mark?!?!?!

**Mark has come back from wherever he was at for the last three months. He has a problem and it has to do with blood. He is not invincible and he cannot do impossible things like reviving the dead. He is just... unique. It will all be explained in the later chapters. **

**My apology for misuse of the Lupinian language. Any who feel insulted, I ask of you to forgive me. It was my sad attempt at a joke before Mark start attacking. I'm not really that fluent in the language either. It's harder than English, which does not even have a set verb conjugation.**

**So if you find anything disagreeable, please tell me and I'll take it into consideration. Thank you.**


	7. Chapter 7: Lead

**Wow. I didn't think that anyone was going to guess what race the girl was so quickly. Was I that obvious? Since one person already guessed what the girl was, it would make sense why many of the guys who were unpure would look at her like that. Plus, guys weren't the only ones affected. Serra was looking to compare herself with the newcomer. Well anyway, as for one of the questions, Pent wasn't considered a girl because I just didn't see him being very feminine. I'm terribly sorry for the late update. I was busy and so forth.**

Chapter 7: Lead

Mark stared at them. They stared at him. None of them moved. This was impossible. Mark died. Eliwood, Lyn, and Hector all saw him get hit by the arrow. A punctured heart leads to death unless something replaces it. Nothing can replace the duties of a heart. How… how was this possible?

Lyn took a step forward in disbelief. "Mark?" She asked quietly. Mark stood unmoving. His eyes were unlike the old Mark. They still betrayed no feeling and pierced your soul searching for answers, but this new Mark did not have the gentle brown irises nor the kindness and compassion his old counterpart portrayed.

"Well, well, isn't this a touching reunion?" A lady in robes floated down. Her robes were elegant with designs connecting circles on her arms. Wings white and feathery glistened in the pale light through one of the broken windows. Her hair and eyes were brown. She was the opposite, in appearance, of the demoness they met earlier.

"Tsk, Tsk, Mark. You didn't fight at all did you? You didn't even manage to kill the lords. Why? Did you still retain your feelings for them?"

Mark looked up sharply at her, his eyes wild with fright. He collapsed to the ground grabbing his shoulders writhing in pain. The lady barely noticed and whispered, "Go to him Mark. He'll make the pain go away. They are the cause of your pain. You can be rid of them soon enough. We'll always be by your side."

Mark started to phase out by the end of her second sentence. Before he disappeared, he took one last look at the group in front of him.

Still keeping her eyes trained on them, she spoke, "So you are the former friends of Mark I've heard so much about. You don't look so tough. How did you manage to avoid his claws? His traps are always perfect."

"Yeah? Well keep dreaming lady. That wasn't Mark," Hector spoke in a less than sure way.

Her eyes widen in shock. "How dare you?! You dare insult him?! You would disrespect the Holy Prin-." She stopped her self suddenly. Her hands covered her mouth as if she spoke something she shouldn't have. After a moment she narrowed her eyes. Looking down on them with contempt, she spat, "Hmph, and I was going to let you go free. I suppose that I should just kill you now. After all, then he will pardon my mistake. She brought her hand up, wind swirled around her hand forming an orb. Her eyes gleamed manically as she slowly brought it down.

Out of nowhere, a dagger flew at her, disrupting her spell. She quickly faded out the same way as Mark.

"AWW! That's really a shame. I was hoping to nail her and get some more info. She makes it so much harder for me to spy on her now," Matthew swore as he came out of the shadows. While every body was too busy looking at Mark and the lady, Matthew snuck in and hid until the opportune time. "I couldn't get a tracker on her. Man, why do I always get the lamest technology up to date?"

All heads were turned to him. Latest technology? Matthew, sensing that this was not a good time to reveal his tricks, decided to change the subject. "Hey Lyn. You managed to track down the Black Fang on the last adventure. Can you track Mark or at least his look alike down this time?"

Lyn gave him a skeptic look, "Oh sure Matthew, clumsy soldiers leaving footprints is just the same as following invisible energy strands left behind after a phasing or warp."

Matthew looked up hopefully, "So you can get him?"

"No Matthew, I was being sarcastic. I would have thought that hanging around Mark as much as you do you would learn of sarcasm."

"No, Mark only called me to see what I've picked up on our expeditions. I say, when he learned of my abilities, he ordered me that whenever we entered an enemy fortress, check for treasures and weapons. Whatever they won't have, will only help us."

"Oh, so is that why some of the treasures of Castle Ostia went missing after we protected the throne there?" Smirked Hector at Matthew with murder in his eyes. How can violence and gore be so appealing to him? Especially about something so petty.

Lyn stepped in before the day was called the Matthew Massacre. Focusing with her all her strength on the ring Mark gave her, his spirit which lingers in all of them, she saw flashes of Mark, wherever he was.

_Flash_

_Mark stood with people surrounding him. The demoness from the village and the new lady they saw stood beside him. A shadow stood in front of him. The four of them formed a ring. The shadow person was slightly taller then Mark and spoke with eloquence._

_"Mark, your next mission is Pherae. Go there. You need no more directions. Do what was planned."_

_Mark turned and started to leave before the shadow called out again with his right arm outstretched. "Wait a minute Mark. You don't have to go quite yet. Come, you've just come back. I want to hear all about it. What happened, what was your genius plan this time, were you hurt anywhere?" His demeanor was suddenly changed from his earlier command._

_Mark nodded and handed him a scroll before looking back down like a doll. The shadow turned around and called the two girls to his side. "Geez, Mark seems down ever since we rescued him. His memories hurt him so I don't think I should stop the repression. What do you think Tarin?" _

_The brown haired one, Tarin, spoke, "I really think that you should stop calling him by that stupid name.?"_

_"But he made it up himself. That was the main reason that we chose our names. Remember? To fit in with him more."_

_"Fine, but once he is himself again, I vote that we return to our real names." _

_The shadow nodded his head slowly, silently agreeing. "What do you think Tamara?"_

_The demoness Tamara spoke, "I think that you should welcome him back again. He's been through a lot. You should throw him a party!" she ended happily._

_Again the shadow nodded his head and agreed. "Yes, that's just what we need. A good old bonding agent for all of us." He turned around to Mark, "Mark, you have a week here. We're throwing you a party in a week and you can't leave until then." _

_Mark didn't look up but he acknowledged his superior. "Understood," he spoke monotonously._

_The other three sighed comically muttering, "This will take a while."_

_End Flash_

Lyn quickly jolted out of her reverie. She looked up at Eliwood and Hector sternly and said, "We're going to Pherae."

**So Mark has come back and we have some new powerful forces against the lords. On the flip side, he is against them and now they have overwhelming odds against them. He'll be back. He alway comes back.**


	8. Chapter 7X: Reminiscence

**This is not really a chapter. It's more of a part of the story that you can skip if you want to but you'll miss out on some information. It's kind of like a sidequest in the original game.**

Chapter 7X: Reminiscence

They were heading to Pherae and would arrive soon, way before the week was up. During this time, Lyn would set out a period each day to focus on where Mark was. It was less of a spying mission for information as it was for her personal satisfaction of seeing Mark again.

She could only see at certain times and even then it was a little fuzzy. The glimpses that she did get showed a great festival being held, though it was just decorations, no one in their right mind (and certainly not evil people) would hang up such gaudy decorations.

During this time, Lyn saw what Mark saw but she was hoping that she could reach a piece of his mind. The 'supposed' leader mentioned about repressing memories so hopefully she would find the 'true' piece of him and bring him back to 'normal'.

Still, the more she wandered in his mind, the less she felt sure. She sensed no living energy from him. Even against their earlier opponents ,like Grepsle and Tarin, they had some kind of aura around them and their minds, but Mark had no such aura. It was only a blank. The same could be said for his memories. She saw only a bit of it, but it was basically as if the only thing he knew was to follow directions. It was like a clean slate.

Though discouraged, Lyn pushed onward. Mark never let the impossible win and so she won't either. She promised him. "You will be my master tactician and I will be your peerless student." Her mentor needed her and she won't fail. She'll survive without food and water for days if she had to if it meant bringing him back.

Her stomach gave a loud growl in protest. Looking down at her abdomen, she thought back about Mark. He said, "Determination is great, but then so again is food. Besides if you won't eat it then it will either go to waste," he paused before continuing, "Or you can give it to me or Hector. We won't complain." He only meant that as a joke but when she tried it, he basically forced her to sit down and start eating. Then he reprimanded her not to ever do that again.

Looking back, Mark really did care about her. He cared about the entire army but he was also looking out for not only their safety, but also for their benefit. Like the time he volunteered to look after Serra for Erk. Erk claims that Serra was annoying but everyone can see that he really worries for her. No one could argue that Serra was annoying at times though. Well, everyone except Mark.

He sat in front of her and they would talk. Everyone around camp, no matter how aloof, would sneak a peek at them. Mark was patient with Serra's remarks and would speak softly back. Only one other person could do this and keep a straight face and that was Lucius and even he wasn't this good.

Then again, was Mark just some perfect being? Tarin, if that was her name, claims that Mark was not Mark's real name. Just was would it be then? Either way, would a name really make that much difference? Would Mark be any different then when she found him on the plains?

Sure he would. He's was already different when he was shot. When she found him on the plains, he was quiet, shy, and not very trusting. Eventually, he opened up and was one of the most appreciated people in their group. But the question still remains as will he remember them and would he still be their friend?

Lyn was jolted out of her reverie as Eliwood knocked and told her that they have arrived in Pherae. It won't be long now. Mark was to be captured alive. They will ask him some things they want to clear up, then they will return what belongs to him, and then it will be up to him to decide. Would he stay with them, or would he move on and put them behind him?

**Not much to say here. It's just Lyn thinking back.**


	9. Chapter 8: Captured Alive

**Not much again.**

Chapter 8: Captured Alive

Eliwood rushed into the castle. His mother was his only family left so he didn't want to take any chances. Mark tried not to fight against them last time; it was by no means that he won't attack others this time. They had one night left before he was to attack if what Lyn said was any indication.

After stocking up in the local market, they decided that to place the Queen in the throne room. Her safety was Eliwood's main priority. They stationed guards around the perimeter but only sparingly. They knew that if Mark was leading the opposition, not even the best defenses can keep him out. They were counting on one thing and one thing only.

Mark told him when they began the journey for his father that he should never count on what the opponent will do because more than likely, they will do the exact opposite and you're left with a big mess.

Still, it was the best choice of what they came up with. Lucius, Wil, Rebecca, and several others volunteered to talk with him. Karel, Guy, and others that followed their idea wanted to pound him to a bloody pulp and drag him back. The last group had basically only Karel in it. He came up with the idea to kill Mark and be done with it after he joined the Bloody Pulp faction. He didn't have anything against Mark, he just wanted to kill. He settled for Mark's wolves later.

It was night when they struck. A guard ran in and informed them that the castle was placed under siege. The opposition was moving quickly through the town, though the villagers were boarded up and the group was passing by without a backward glance.

Eliwood nodded and told all the guards to collect in the throne room. He will be up front fighting with his army and they were to protect his mom. If Pherae lost its queen, it will be thrown into chaos and will undo the work they had accomplished against Nergal. Wars can and will break out if any of the government shows any weakness. The relationships between areas were still tense.

Several minutes passed by before they heard the door being knocked down. In strode Mark standing straight and tall with his army behind him. The hell-fangs were standing in line formation and marched with the skill of a professional military. Mark walked forward. With each step, he changed more and more into a wolf. Eventually, they met up with the same opponent in the ruined castle.

Mark paused, and then with a howl, the hell-fangs charged forward threatening to rip all who stood in their way. As the creatures were rushing forward, Mark moved forward towards the lords. The other lupine creatures diverged around the lords giving them ample room and fought against the other members of the army including the guards.

It was no time for talk. This was a battle and Mark was an opponent. His movements haven't changed much. If for anything, he seems to be moving slower and he took his times with the attack, many of which they dodged. The battle raged on for several hours.

The most they fought for was one or two hours. Mark took them into battle, and they exited quickly. This was a test of their stamina. No, they will not give up. Mark often meditated in the extreme conditions of the camp and he had no complaints. Yes, thought Eliwood, I will be like Mark, my tactician and friend.

At last the final hell-fang was brought down when Nils accidentally tripped and knocked into a suit of armor. It fell over and its ax severed the surprised creature's head off. Mark was still going at them. His energy was diminishing quickly though and he was tiring out fast. His movements were slow, his breathing ragged, and he got several injuries even though Hector was trying his hardest not to hurt Mark too badly.

When the light came out, Mark turned back to normal. By now, he was on one knee and breathing hard. He looked up sharply as Eliwood moved forward. His eyes burned with determination and challenged Eliwood to ask him to surrender. It was during this staring contest that Hector got in a clean blow. He snuck up on Mark and knocked him out cold with a special pressure point just below the base of his neck.

Mark fell forward and knew no more. Lyn and Eliwood moved forward with ropes and fastened his arms and legs together. It was just a precaution incase he accidentally woke up on the way there. Once they reach a bed, they'll fasten him to the bed posts so he won't struggle during the examination. They moved him to the infirmary for intensive care.

The area around the fight was demolished. Everything was broken but nothing irreplaceable. The Queen was worried sick about her son's health and his friends but otherwise was fine. The servants and maids of the castle set out to clean up the mess.

In the infirmary, no one was allowed in except the lords, and only because they got special permission. Hector looked sick, Eliwood looked sad, and Lyn looked worried. Finally she spoke up, "Mark, I have a lot of questions for you. When you wake up, I hope that you can answer them. For now, I return what was yours."

With that she took the ring off her finger and placed it on Mark's right index finger. Mark twitched in his sleep but otherwise made no move of acknowledgement. His friends could only look on and leave when visiting time was over.

_In a dark place_

_Mark was all alone. He saw voices. He didn't hear them, nor could he see who spoke but he somewhat saw the voices, as if he knew something he shouldn't._

_"He has failed. He was captured. Why oh why did you do that? Surely you knew what would happen. Didn't you?"_

_"Calm down, Mark did not fail. He has done admirably well for what has happened so far. Also, he got what he needed to get. One more thing to do but it won't be needed as much. Until then, Mark will fall right into place in the puzzle."_

_The voices faded away and Mark remembered nothing of them. The only thing he remembered was a vague picture of a girl with a ponytail. She was sitting on a hill, but who was she? He just can't seem to remember. Why? Is it something…more?_

**These opponents are not your average opponents. They hold a key to Mark. There were no fatalities during the fight with the exception of the wolves. If anyone wants to know why Mark's troops were losing, its because Mark really doesn't want to fight against them. Not until he finds out more information. Also, the wolves were like low level grunts. Compare them to the opponent spear men in the game.**


	10. Chapter 9: Reunion

**Aww. Mark's dreaming about a girl. Who? I won't say. I like teasing people.**

Chapter 9: Reunion

It was three days before Mark finally woke up. The first thing he saw was white. Then his brain cells, or what was left of them, kicked in and he realized that he was looking into the light of the chandelier. Groaning and looking away, he saw that he was in Castle Pherae's infirmary. He got up and shifted his joints to get them used to motion again. He felt he had died and just woken up again.

Then the memories started to flood him. The arrow piercing him and his lords were in trouble. He looked down and noticed his ring. They were supposed to have gotten this ring should anything happen to him. His friends were in trouble… or worse…

At that moment, the doors opened to let Hector in. Mark was filled with happiness. So much in fact, that he literally jumped into Hector's arms and gave him a hug that dented his armor. Lyn and Eliwood stepped in and it was just too much for Mark. He was in heaven. His friends were here, he was happily awake from his slumber. Wait, did he just say that he was in heaven? That was it. It explained everything. Why he was still conscious, how he got his ring back, why he can see his friends here. He was in heaven. They had all died. At this point Mark just broke down and was crying.

"Wow, he seemed upset when he saw you guys. Do you think that he was happy that he saw beauty, me, and when he saw something not so beautiful, such as you guys, he just can't bear the ugliness?" asked Hector jokingly.

Whether he was joking or not he was still punished. Lyn promptly walked up to him and smacked him across the back of his head before going back to Mark. By now, Mark was up again and has calmed himself. He took a deep breath before barraging them with his questions such as why they didn't take his ring and so on and so forth.

Eventually, after everything was sorted out, Mark took a second to let everything sink in. He stood up, excused himself, went outside to the balcony, and screamed for all he was worth. He then came back in, took a sip of tea, and acted like nothing has happened. Yeah, this was Mark alright.

After he satisfied his curiosity for the moment, the others started to ask him questions.

"Where were you Mark?"

"Hmm, I don't know. It was someplace dark."

"What did you do?"

"I don't know. I don't think I've done anything."

"Okay then, how did you transform into a wolf."

"I don't— hey! I never transformed into a wolf. What gave you that idea?"

The others looked guiltily at Mark. Lyn gathered her courage and spoke gently, "Mark, you transformed into a wolf, the one that we fought against twice. We just left out some detail in the explanation. We didn't want to shock you incase you didn't know. We're sorry."

Mark stared at them wide-eyed. They had to be kidding. But they were his friends. They wouldn't joke on something like this. No, this was the truth. The lords, seeing Mark troubled by the news, exited quietly to give him time to think.

By the time they got back, which was several hours later, they saw the balcony doors were open and Mark was nowhere in sight. Saddened by the thought that Mark abandoned them, they decided to move on. After all, they did agree that Mark was to be given his choice. He still didn't take back the dagger though.

For three more days, they were moping around. Some had to get their wounds healed. Mark would have done it. He would have made sure that they got professional help as soon as possible. He was changed now though, why should he matter? But he did.

On the fourth day after his disappearance, they decided to send Matthew out to find him if he was still in town though it was highly doubtful. He was out for almost an entire day and when he came back, he was beaming with happiness. "Mark is just outside of Pherae. He's been helping the people who comes there and was wondering what was taking you guys so long. He also gave me this." Matthew opened his hand to reveal Mark's ring. The black gem at the top looked darker than usual but when Lyn took it, the aura dispersed.

Matthew recounted what happened when he met up with Mark.

_Flashback_

_"Yo! Mark! Are you here?"_

_"Quit shouting, my hearing isn't that bad." Mark looked up and noticed Matthew. "Is that really you Matthew?"_

_"Mark, you old dog. No pun intended. Where have you been?"_

_"For these four days? I've been living out here, helping people who come by. I've been waiting for when Eliwood and the others would set out again. Is something wrong? I can always go back."_

_"No, no, nothing's wrong at all. They're just getting their check ups and some have to be healed."_

_"Ah, well that's a relief. I thought that they've already left when I was sleeping but the villager told me that they haven't left yet." Mark shivered as a wind pass by. "Well, come on in Matthew, the owners just rented me this place but they're away to visit some relatives. Come and have some tea and biscuits."_

_"Well, don't mind if I do." Thus began the long conversation of Mark and Matthew. Mark couldn't tell much because he can't remember much, but Matthew was still his chatty self and told all about their adventures so far. In the end, Mark gave Matthew his ring and told him to take it back to Eliwood and the others. They rightfully deserve it. For some reason, he felt safer if it was with them._

_End Flashback_

The lords looked at Matthew with awe as he was still basking in his own glory that he found Mark. Eliwood spoke first.

"He gave back the ring?"

Then Lyn said, "He's been waiting for us?"

And of course Hector had to add his comment, "You got tea and biscuits without us and you didn't bring back any?"

All of them stared at Hector now. The most pointless detail just had to be picked out by him. Eliwood thought for a second before speaking up, "Actually guys, I agree with Hector. You had tea and biscuits and didn't save us any?"

Matthew was looking rather uncomfortable now as Hector and Eliwood were looking at him hungrily. "Err, well I've done what I was needed to. Remember, Matthew the Magnificent is always there to help those in need." Matthew struck a heroic pose and jumped out the window. He then crashed in the balcony below; muttered "Ow" picked himself up and limped off.

The others shook their heads and planed what they were going to do next. Their best course was to pick up Mark and continue to hunt the mysterious group. Mark evidently had something to do with them and it would be safer to have him with them.

That night, Lyn got another vision. It wasn't possible. Mark wasn't there but somehow, it happened.

_Flash_

_The supposed leader was with Tarin and Tamara. He spoke first._

_"Oh dear, Mark seemed to have messed up. Do you suppose that his other self knows?"_

_Tarin spoke against it, "It can't be, **Mark **can't get those memories back by himself. It must be a coincident."_

_"Hmm," thought Tamara, "Well remember what that book said, "There is no coincident, only Hitsuzen." _

_"Tamara, you actually listen to a book? And a picture book no less."_

_"Hey! Don't diss the book. It hasn't done anything to you and it can't fight back."_

_"Now, now ladies. Let's calm down for a minute. There is still plenty of time. Even if Mark did mess it up this time, whether by accident or purposely, we still have plenty of time. After all, this may be to our advantage after all."_

_He looked at Tamara. "Tamara, go to the new port, Port Tortuga. Go and destroy all of the evidence. It can be used to turn Mark against us. If the other group knows about it, they'll most likely go after it and turn Mark into an abomination. He'll fight against us, his friends."_

_"You got it boss. I'm on my way." With that she exited._

_"Tarin, go and see if the preparations are done. It won't be as good if Mark isn't there to help them, but check anyway. There can be no mistakes."_

_"It is done."_

_End Flash_

Lyn woke up to see the sun shining. It wasn't a good omen. Still, she had some idea of where to go. Next stop, Port Tortuga.

**Mark liked open areas now for obvious reasons. **


	11. Chapter 10: Exparagon at Port

**Tortuga is actually a real island. For story purposes, it is not located in the Carribeans. It is a place where lots of information gathered. Illegally of course.**

Chapter 10: Ex-paragon at Port

The lords rallied their well rested troops and headed out towards Port Tortuga. Along the way, they stopped by to pick up Mark. He was happy to see them and already had everything packed.

"So Mark, tell us why you ran off."

"Well Eliwood, funny story that. I needed time to sort out my mind and accept things so I needed time alone. Also, I wanted to be near the trees and stuff."

"Geez, now you're just sounding like Lyn," said Hector. The sentence earned him another slap from Lyn.

"Well, it was that and that the infirmary had a whole bunch of silver. If I am a werewolf, then it would make sense that I am afraid of silver now."

"Okay then Mark, but why did you give me back the ring. It's yours after all."

"No Lyndis, it is no longer mine. I just don't feel right hanging on to it. You should keep it. I feel… safer if it was with you."

"Okay then Mark if you wish. Do you want your dagger or book back? I still have it."

"No you can hold on to those. Besides," Mark paused right there and took out a new book. "I'm going to start a new book. Anyway, where are we off to this time?"

"Port Tortuga," came the simultaneous answers.

Though three voices answered him, Mark felt his head swirled and he heard echoes of the words "Port Tortuga" over and over again. He shook his head and banished the thought. Still, he didn't want to go there.

"Uh, are you sure that you want to go there?"

"Why shouldn't we. I heard them mention it in my dreams."

"Please Lyn, for the love of Bejeezus don't go there."

"Um, okay Mark. I think that you should go and lie down again. You're saying strange things."

Mark was breathing hard and started to hyperventilate. He looked up at them like a maniac and spoke with such calmness that it was impossible to not feel the air dropping in degrees, "Why are you all looking at me like that? I-am-not-a-freak!" He went back to hyperventilating.

Eliwood came up to him and patted his back calming him down somewhat. "Now, now Mark, no one's saying that you are a freak. _Out loud_." The last part he whispered and it was directed at Hector.

Mark calmed down somewhat and decided to go and prepare for the next battle that was sure to come, in his mind anyway. It took another day to reach there and Mark spent his time walking and filling his new book with whatever he was filling it with.

The journey to the port was relatively uninteresting. Mark was acting weirder than usual but he just got back so maybe he was the same and they were just out of tune with him over that long period of Mark-less adventuring.

Port Tortuga was a relatively new port. Most maps still don't have it labeled and who would have. When they arrived, they saw what freaked Mark out so much. The whole area was crawling with pirates. These pirates acted civilized enough though. One stepped aside for Serra and bowed. This didn't help deflate her ego so Erk was left with Serra going on and on about her beauty.

There were also female pirates. They are very stoic at a distance though up close, they were just normal girls that stole for a living and lived on the open waters. Sain found this out when he approached on and after a couple of drinks, the girl was under his hypnotic flirts. Kent dragged him away from the girl to his displeasure and back to the group.

After entering for no longer than 45 standard minutes, they came to a rather unwelcoming sight. No, she wasn't ugly; it was just that they didn't to want to encounter her again. Floating above them was Tamara. Some of the guys were under her influence again but some resisted. Serra was staring intently because she was wondering about the last comment that Hector made. Compared to Tamara, Serra was still a little girl in relative size.

She looked over them and lingered slightly on Mark where her expression softened. She took a breath and spoke to them in a slightly perky voice, "So you've come. You'll never make it to the library. My group will be there before you and we'll destroy your bad intentions for Mark. MUWAHAHAAHA!"

She then took off to the opposite end of the area. As she was flying, wolves came out at the oddest places, like barrels and one came from one pirate's drink. After getting over their initial shock, the pirates were rather upset so they picked up their weapons and headed out.

Mark looked around and viewed the surroundings. "What's the situation?" He asked Lyn.

Lyn closed her eyes and saw the field in chaos and cacophony. "There are too many minds out. I can't organize them." Her face screwed up in concentration.

She felt gentle hands hold her shoulders and Mark's voice drifted into her mind. "_Concentrate Lyn. Give a banner to each group. Think blue for us, red for our opponents, and green for those who don't wish to fight."_

_"Okay Mark. What do I do about the pirates?"_

_"Give them another banner then. You are not limited to a certain number."_

Lyn opened her eyes and saw Mark's hands were still on her shoulders and his eyes were closed like they were asleep. She couldn't help but blush at the closeness that Mark was with her. Mark opened his eyes and she saw the determination in them.

Lyn gave the briefing to Hector and Eliwood. Mark listened but didn't contribute much. Eliwood looked through Mark's book and found a good enough strategy. It wasn't one of Mark's but it was loosely based on it. Loosely being the key word.

The library was in the center of the port. It was kept there to keep it safe from the tides and wet winds. They had to get there before any reds got to it. The pirates were scattered here and there but many wouldn't attack until they were attacked or you got into their range. Some were hungry for blood though and are moving about so each unit had to be careful. They didn't care who they come for whether they are friends or enemies or each other.

They had to move quickly yet carefully. Time was of the essence. If one of the other opponents reached the library before them, it was likely that it would be torched. With that, they were off.

Meanwhile, Tamara was watching with mild enjoyment. It's been a while, but her fangs are still as sharp as ever. If it wasn't for him and his sake, she would have declined the offer, but ever since that day. Well…

No, she had to concentrate. Her troops are doing well. Most are fleeing after the battle so that was a good thing. They were not cowards; they would lay down their lives for the greater good so this was more like a strategic retreat.

After a while, her group was thinning out. Most of the wolves have fled, though some died. Oh well, it was for the better. The ones that died wanted to anyway. All in all, this was good. Still, she hadn't had any fun for quite a while so she decided to test lady luck.

She opened her wings and flew towards the library. She managed to get there in time to block them. After some insults started to fly, she took to the sky and prepared for her assault. Her body was straight and nothing moved with the exception of her wings. She stuck out her right hand and waved it in a complex manner. From the ground, it looked like she was just moving it up and down but they didn't have time for that because after she cast the spell, shadow meteors started to fall on them.

She spent the entire time up where they can't attack. Mark didn't seem as fazed as some of the other members. The pirates were mostly retreating and the green units were rescued. Mark signaled Florina to come. Then using calming techniques, he told her of his plan. She was to take Hector on her Pegasus, which she stammered her futile objection, and he was to throw his dagger at Tamara. In the end, Mark won and moved over to Erk.

Florina took Hector to the sky blushing all the way and uncomfortable for the entire ride. There he threw his dagger at Tamara. It missed, just like Hector knew and that Mark should have known. However, at that moment, lightening came crashing down and struck the dagger as it was implanted in the ground. It didn't go straight down but curved somewhat. Everyone looked up to see the bolt strike right through Tamara. Blood fell down and showered the dagger. Tamara didn't make a sound. Her wings folded around her and she faded away.

As she faded away, her voice was heard. It was unbroken by pain or anything. It was as if she was normal. She said, "Mark belongs with us. After all, we can tolerate his condition. He is unstable now, but eventually, he will start to change periodically by the phases of the moon. A threat to all who he encounters."

Everything was silent but it was broken by the sound of a cannon. Everyone looked up to see a ship coming towards the port. It was turned broadside and its cannons fired, each shot hitting a wolf. A child that was playing with Nino, who was supposed to be protecting him, stopped to look at the ship. "Look!" He shouted, "The Wolf's Bane is coming." It was coming closer into view now and they clearly saw that the figurehead was in the shape of a giant wolf's head.

After clearing out all of the wolves, it continued on its path, not bothering to dock, and Eliwood and his companions went to the library hoping for some sort of clue. Before leaving, Canas borrowed the dagger and took some of the blood and put it into a vial.

The library was a dusty old place with books everywhere. It wasn't that the library was old; it was the books that were the cause. Some books are here by donations while others were pilfered from ships that the pirates raided. Books are easily damaged by water as many of us know, so the pirates donated them to the library. Not all pirates are barbarians.

It took three days of perusing through the old tomes that they finally found a lead. Canas called the other spell-casters to his side to talk about the plan that he formulated form reading a passage from Bending Barriers by Star Kaleidoscope.

Everyone was staying at the various inns in the port. The occasionally went to the library to ask something or look up some information that they didn't know. All during that time, Canas, Lucius, and Erk were locked up in a room they rented in the library. Lord Pent would come and visit them from time to time but other than that, they had no contact with the outside.

Eventually, on the fifth day, they finally came out. The three of them looked ragged but triumphant. They called in the lords and Mark. Serra came along because the three of them looked as if they were going to die standing and spent the time healing them. Half of the army showed up to see what was happening.

Inside of the room, a large red circle was drawn on the ground with symbols and lines inside of it. Lucius and Erk looked at Canas to explain, since he was the one who came up with the idea.

"Well then, I'm sure that everyone understands to a certain degree about Mark's condition. After much searching, I found a way to cure him. The book in question spoke of a ritual that can be used to change the species of a certain specimen. The seal needed to invoke such power must be written in the blood that is the species of which you wanted to change to. We have gone to the blood bank and purchased the necessary blood and have created the seal you see before you. Unfortunately, we ran out just before the seal was completed so we had to use the blood of the demoness from earlier. The details of how this works is much to complicated for most minds to wrap around it so just know that after it is cast, the first species that is mentioned in the presence of the specimen will change him/her to the said creature."

With that, Mark went into the middle circle and the three magicians took their circles. It was a tense five minutes. Not a single sound was made. After the casting was done, Erk looked up at the lords and nodded to them giving permission to say the word.

Lyn licked her lips getting ready to say it. "Now Mark, become hu-"

Lyn never finished because at that exact moment, Matthew bounded into the room exclaiming, "Hey everyone, I found out who our opponent was. She was a succubus."

The entire room was silent and started at Mark and Matthew. Lyn took a deep breath and moved towards Matthew with her hand on the Mani Katti's hilt.

Canas quickly took this time to tell them that Mark was not yet a succubus. "You see everyone, a succubus is female. In Mark's case, he would be an incubus." Canas quickly shut himself up after realizing what he had done.

Everyone now stared at Canas. Lyn took another breath and sighed. Canas and Matthew thought that they were safe since Lyn had sighed. Lyn quickly grabbed Matthew and tossed him at Canas. When they are close together she unsheathed her sword and her eyes glowed red.

Canas thought fast to save their hides. "Uh Lyn, do you want to hear the bad news or the worse news?"

Lyn had a face of confusion. But it was quickly replaced with a mask of anger and murderous intent.

Canas continued, "Mark can't survive as he is now…"

**For those who don't know, Succubi and Incubi require doing adulterous acts with the opposite gender, of humans, in order to gather the energy needed to survive. Mark is lucky because he will have a loop-hole.**

**The Bending Barriers book is mainly about actual barriers. It mentions different social or spiritual barriers briefly. Also, the Wolf's Bane is in another story.**

**This will probably be the last update for a few weeks. I can't go on as often as I wish so, oh well. Please bear with me.**


	12. Chapter 10X: Trip in Tortuga

**It would seem that there are some who are confused about the last chapter. Mark's dagger, while it has properties of its own, is still made of metal and as everyone knows, metal conducts electricity. When Hector threw the dagger, Erk's thunder spell was just finished so the lightning bolt was drawn to the dagger. It curved because it started going down already but was pulled towards the dagger and struck Tamara who was in it's path. Hypothetically, it would work in the real world, but please don't try this at home. It is very dangerous.**

**Sorry about the really late update. It was nothing big, rather it was just a lot of little things that get added up to a bigger thing. Not much of an excuse, but it'll do.**

Chapter 10X: Trip in Tortuga

_Flash_

_"Oh dear, it seems something went off track. Oh well, we'll just use the backup plan but I bet you're happy now, aren't you?"_

_"Hmm..." _

_"Hmm? Are you okay? I thought you would be happy about this development."_

_"Well, maybe…no it's nothing…perhaps…"_

_"…?..."_

_Flash_

Lyn spoke slowly but vehemently, "Canas, either you explain yourself quickly or I'm going to start killing you slowly and painfully by disemboweling. Matthew is second." Matthew looked fearfully at Lyn but even more so at Canas because he's holding both of their lives in his hands.

"Err… Yes, well incubi and succubi survive by participating in rather adulterous acts in order to survive." Everyone started at Mark who was still standing in the same position looking downward. "They drain energy of the host during these acts and can sometimes leave the host on the verge of dying. There is also the problem of offspring."

Lyn let a moment to let all of this sink in before she advanced again. "Well you better think of something quick before I go all Breakfast Club on you."

Everyone was looking at Lyn now but Lyn gave them a glare that said that if they want to be on her warpath then go ahead and question her choice of words. Not wanting to do this, they turned back to Canas who was already hurrying to a shelf.

He took another vial of red liquid and drew a symbol on Mark. He went back to his circle and started to chant something else. The circles glowed but only faintly this time. Canas took a breath before facing Lyn.

"Okay, it's done. Mark will still be an incubus but he will get his energy source from something else. Mind you though, this is only temporary."

"Canas, you are really pushing your luck."

"Calm down Lyn. I can't do anything in this current state. Give us a day. Tomorrow, we should be able to keep Mark under control."

Mark has been silent up until this minute when he started to burst. "Will everyone stop making my decisions for me? I would like to say my input now."

Lyn and Canas looked down at his comment. Trying to smooth things over, Lyn spoke calmly to him, "Well, Mark what would you like to say?"

Mark looked embarrassed a bit and spoke back quietly, "Um… I just said what I wanted to say. The whole stop making my decisions for me. I'm okay with whatever you guys do."

Everyone looked like they wanted to strangle him for making them feel bad. Now they all agree that they should spend the rest of the day sightseeing and wait until the next day to get Mark back to normal, well as normal as Mark can get.

Hector was wondering something ever since Canas told them that Mark was to feed on a different energy. "Say Canas, what type of energy were you talking about when you said that Mark fed on a different kind?"

Canas was dead tired and almost half a sleep when he replied. "Oh that. He needs to be kissed."

Everyone looked at Canas like he was crazy. Then they looked back at Mark. Everyone is looking a lot today. Serra heard this as well and jumped at the opportunity. She lunged at Mark before he could react and wrapped her arms around his neck before giving him a deep mouth to mouth kiss.

Onward the spectators stared, except for Canas because he was asleep on the floor, while Mark was flailing his arms uselessly before going limp. By the time Serra let go, Mark slumped to the floor unconscious. Hector and Matthew went forward and prodded him with a stick.

"What happened to him?" They asked.

Serra shrugged, "I don't know. At first I felt this energy leaving me but then I felt the connection kind of went backwards and was flowing into me. Now I feel…HYPER!" Serra started to literally bounce off of the walls until the group forced Erk to take her outside.

Lucius spoke up, because now he was the only one that understands the situation and is not incapacitated, "It would appear that Mark cut off the flow of Serra's energy to him and reversed it by accident so his energy got transferred to her. Now we just have to wait and see if he…"

Lucius trailed off because Mark was starting to stir now. He sat up and looked at his hand, slowly rotating it. He smirked, well half smirked half grinned, and walked out the door.

"We should probably follow him. He'll be hunting now that he's hungry," Lucius said with signs of worry, "I'll be taking care of Canas."

The others nodded quickly and rushed outside to find Mark only to see nothing. Mark had already wandered off to find his first victim. They split up to find Mark. Lyn, Hector, and Eliwood were the lucky ones of find him. He had Pricilla cornered.

"Come with me and I'll show you some fun tonight," Mark spoke smoothly, gently stroking her face. Pricilla was pushed up against the wall and was blushing furiously. There was one thing missing from this picture though, where was Raven?

Well, he wandered away from Pricilla to look at the armory next door. Then his sister sense started to tingle. Something was happening to Pricilla and it was not something that was acceptable to an innocent girl that happens to be his sister. He hurried out and ran where his sense told him to. Soon, he caught sight of Mark and Pricilla.

It took a second for it to register in his brain that Mark was hitting on his sister, but when he realized it, he was mad. He ran forward with his Steele Blade drawn ready to lop Mark's head off. Mark noticed this in time though and easily sidestepped him.

"Calm yourself Raven. What use will become of this violence?" Mark sickened Raven. Here he was talking about the use of violence when just earlier he was hitting on his sister. Didn't Mark know the Code of the Honorable Brotherhood? Strike down all who attempts to claim your sister.

Raven was angry and Mark apparently saw that so he quickly hightailed it out of there. Incubi love to and need to seduce the opposite sex and are willing to share hosts, but they do not like conflict so are also willing to back out before they get too hurt.

Mark tried to run away but before he could, he collapsed on the ground. Lyn and the others approached him slowly and quietly so the don't surprise him. He slowly opened his eyes and muttered, "What happened?"

They looked at him as if he was crazy because he just tried to get a girl, something the old Mark wouldn't do, and then he forgets about it. Yeah it was getting weirder by the minute. After deciding that Mark was sane, ... enough, through the protests of Raven and surprisingly Mark, they decided to go their separate ways and explore the port.

Raven was sticking closely to Pricilla now and she couldn't go anywhere without him. Hector and Eliwood decided to explore together but Mark politely declined sightseeing with Lyn. They walked down different roads to see the great port of pirates.

After several minutes, Lyn walked through a random door. She saw people hurrying around trying to do something. A hand grabbed her and pulled her along down a hallway.

"Where have you been? We've been waiting all day for you to show up. Now get going." A short man with a top had hurried her to a dressing room and shoved her in it before she can voice her protest and confusion.

Inside it was no better. Girls of all ages were dressed in really weird costumes. One of them pulled her into a group and they started to change her clothing. Again, she was not able to tell them that there was a mistake and she didn't want to get changed against her will.

Meanwhile, Eliwood and Hector were combing the street looking for something fun to do. They chanced upon a theater and decided that it was better than nothing. They wanted to keep a low profile so they wore some brown cloaks to blend in with the crowds. Inside, it was a huge room filled with seats and even an upper level. They walked through the standing crowd near the front of the stage.

The program had already started while Hector and Eliwood were trying to weave their way through. Hector looked up to get a very nice view of the female dancers. He quickly grabbed Eliwood and spoke in an almost hypnotic voice, "Yo dude, come stare with me."

Mark was walking around as usual when he came to a large man standing by a door. "Excuse me," he asked, "What is happening in there?"

The man looked down at him and told him that it there was a show going on. Mark smiled pleasantly; he always did love the arts. He moved to pay the man the admission fee before the man asked him, "What's your name?"

"Mark," Mark told him.

"Your name's cropped a bit short there isn't it. Surely you came from somewhere or someone because you're standing here in front of me. Tell me, what is it that you do."

"Oh well, I'm a tactician."

"Alrighty then, Mark the Tactician…" The words left the man's mouth but he trembled as the spoke 'tactician'. Mark was afraid that he wasn't going to get to see the show so he was about to ask him what was wrong but the man opened the door for him.

Mark moved to pay him but the man would not accept his money. The man said something about how Mark's greatness precedes him and that he can't accept money from the Great Mark. Then he was worried about the Ghost of Mark. Mark was wondering about getting the guy to a doctor but he decided that the show was more important.

Mark found himself on the upper floor of the theater and was enjoying the view. It was a great view that allowed him to see the entire stage and was close enough to see the facial expressions of the actors. Then he saw something that surprised him.

Lyn was coming out in a red dress. It was like her blue Sacaen dress, but this one showed a lot more cleavage and she was wearing some feathers on her head. He only smiled and waited to see what she was going to do.

Hector and Eliwood were dumbstruck, here was Lyn dressed in a weird costume. Lyn was always the one who prided her dignity and so forth so it was a surprise to see her like this. It was also a chance to get good blackmail material.

Lyn was nervous. That was the only word that described her emotion right now. Well, that and the fact that she wanted to rip the heads off of the people who forced her into this. One of the stagehands urged her to get on with her act already. The only problem was that she had no idea what kind of act she was supposed to do.

The idea came to her as she felt her sword. It was left there because she threatened to kill anyone who dared lay a hand on her sword. She still doesn't know how they managed to change her without removing her sword belt. Anyway, her idea was to do the most complex sword kata she knew. That should be a good enough act. If it wasn't, oh well she didn't volunteer for this anyway. She took a deep breath before starting.

After the show, the whole room was silent when Lyn walked off the stage. Mark, Hector, and Eliwood also exited and met each other outside the door. They were talking about the show when the door opened to show Lyn with a scowl on her face and the short man following her shouting about how she ruined him and so forth.

Mark stepped in to tell the man that she was one of their companions and was not scheduled to do anything. Besides, he thought that the kata was pretty cool. The man still wasn't convinced until another noble walked by and complimented him on the expert swordsmanship of Lyn.

The man stood with his mouth open until one the girls from the dressing room came out and dragged him back in. She came out again and told Lyn that she can keep the new dress because she was so good.

All of this is happening way too fast and the lords and Mark had to take a minute to steady their minds. After letting it sink in, Lyn turned to Mark and said, "Thanks for sticking up for me back there."

"Don't worry. It was the truth." Mark looked away purposely before saying his next line, "Besides, I thought that you did great and looked pretty in that outfit."

Both Lyn and Mark started blushing after the comment. Hector couldn't resist and jumped out and started chanting, "Mark likes Lyn, Mark likes Lyn, Mark likes Lyn…"

Out of nowhere, Matthew jumped out as well and started chanting along with Hector. Mark and Lyn stood rooted to the spot, their faces brighter than a tomato with sunburn. Eliwood shook his head and slapped his face at the idiocy of his companions.

Lyn managed to shut Hector and Matthew up for a while when they went back to the inns. Somehow, news traveled fast and everyone in the camp knew of Mark and Lyn. Some of the pirates even knew and blessed Lyn and Mark. The stories got twisted along the way and one of them ended with Mark saving Lyn from man eating bananas.

Being unable to take the cruel and unusual punishment any longer, the two retired to their rooms hoping that tomorrow the whole thing would blow over. It was when Mark was half asleep that he realized he didn't feed today on human food or kisses.

**Before you start judging what kind of theater it was, just know that it is not so bad. They do all kinds of shows there for all ages. This just happened to be a dancing day with girls in skimpy outfits. Had the group read the obvious sign on the outside of the building, they would have known that, but since they didn't they had to witness that display. The theater's most popular show is the one for kids that airs once a week. It teaches kids about basic education like counting and the alphabets. Just think Seasame Street. **

**This chapter isn't really one of my favorites but it'll have to do. The chapters that I will upload today doesn't really strike my fancy, but it's only my opinion.**


	13. Chapter 11: Facing the Fang

Chapter 11: Facing the Fang

The group woke up to a state of chaos. To recap what had happened, they were teasing Mark and Lyn, playfully (kinda), and the two retired to their beds. No one remembered to ask if Mark had fed. This morning when Florina was sent to wake Lyn and Mark, who was usually up first, she couldn't find either of them. Florina was sent because she was good friends with Lyn and she was trying to get over her fears of men and she doesn't seem to fear Mark as much.

Everyone was talking among themselves coming up with stories of why Mark and Lyn would disappear, each being more wild and fanatical than the last. Eliwood finally calmed them down enough to suggest a search party. The group split up to find their comrades. Eliwood, Hector, Matthew, and Serra made up one group. It was all thanks to Matthew's cunning eye to see a trail in the woods. Someone was clearly stumbling around, most likely Mark, and left a trail that was cleverly hidden, probably by Lyn. They walked a little deeper into the woods before stopping. The ground below was covered with a black liquid, but they were noticing something more important. They found Mark's and Lyn's clothes hung from a string tied between two branches.

After snooping around a little while longer, the guys found Mark's underwear and Serra found Lyn's unmentionables. The group looked at each other wondering what was going on. This was not something that Mark or Lyn was likely to do. Either running around stark naked, they were too prideful for that, or committing rather adulterous acts, which Mark and Lyn wouldn't do because Mark would worry too much about Lyn aside from the fact that he would drain her energy, and Lyn, though strong outside, was very shy when confronting Mark about her feelings, if she had any for him.

They tarried not too much longer as they were anxious to find their companions. They headed towards the nearby stream and heard splashing sounds. They approached cautiously hearing Lyn moan, "Oh Mark…"

They looked at each other one last time and took a deep breath. Then they charged out to stop Lyn's and Mark's sinful acts. They hadn't got far before they felt the earth ending sharply. They looked down to find themselves charging over the edge of the patch of land and landing in the river below them. The water was quiet warm as the opening estuary was not far from them.

They looked up to find Mark and Lyn at a respectable distance covered by towels. They were looking at Eliwood, Hector, and Matthew curiously. Mark didn't look at Serra because he knew the water would cause her clothes to cling to her figure. With one look, Lyn understood what they were thinking about her and Mark.

"No, no, no guys, you have it all wrong. You see, here's what really happened."

_Flashback_

_Mark woke up around midnight really hungry. He hadn't fed for the entire day and was starving for food or energy or whatever. He stumbled quietly (is that even possible?) into the kitchen. He went to the storage area and raided the entire stock. He paid the gold on the table and proceeded to rip into his food which was enough to feed half the army. Still feeling dissatisfied, he walked to the bar to get a drink. Again he paid but he didn't choose anything alcoholic since he can hold as much alcohol as a barrel with holes can hold water. He was busy drinking when Lyn sleepily walked in._

_"Mark…wha…what are you doing down here and why are you drinking out of an ink well?"_

_Mark looked down to notice that in his mad rush to fill his stomach, he grabbed the ink well and was draining it. It was almost dry and they knew that the manager wasn't going to be happy about it afterwards._

_"Come on Mark, wipe your face and we can buy some new ink for the manager."_

_"Yes mother," Mark said with a mocking smile._

_Lyn smiled back before asking, "Mark you never told me about your mom. What's she like?"_

_Mark looked taken back by this sudden request but his face goes dark and he looks down. "Honestly Lyn, I have no idea. I don't remember anything about my family." He looked at her with a kind smile. "I'm sure that you would have been a much better one and will become a great mom someday." Lyn blushed at that comment as Mark spoke it without knowing who is was that she would have wanted to marry._

_They went out after cleaning up and purchased the ink. Walking back though, they decided to take a shortcut through the woods. Mark being weaker than Lyn, tripped, even with a less heavy cargo. The ink went flying and drenched both of them in the dark substance. Lyn could only scowl at Mark but she couldn't keep it up for long._

_"Mark, you look like some one dipped you into the shadows and tried to clean you up with a feather duster," she laughed._

_Now it was Mark's turn to scowl and he picked up a fractured bottle that still held its contents and dumped it over Lyn's head. Lyn was shocked at this and that was how they wasted the entire ink supply. Wanting to clean off before going back empty handed, Lyn led them to the stream. Mark luckily kept some towels under his cloak which avoided most of the damage. _

_They undressed behind the trees and went to opposite sides of the river to wash their clothes; Mark had no intention of looking at Lyn's delicates, well maybe just a little. Still, he resisted. After washing their clothes and hanging them up to dry, they decided to take a soak in the river. Since they had towels, it shouldn't be that much of a problem._

_They talked a little about themselves and their thoughts. The specifics about what they talked about will be taken out because since this story is invading their privacy, they should have a small moment to call their own. If you really want to know, then you poke your nose into other peoples' businesses, in this case private businesses, way too much. They mostly talked about the army and the happenings around them. Nothing too personal as Lyn was preoccupied with her own **private** thoughts and Mark was trying his best not to look below her chin._

_Mark moved around for the umpteenth time trying to find a comfortable sitting rock and slipped again. This is when Lyn moaned about Mark's overpowering clumsiness. Then Hector and the others come crashing through interrupting them._

_End Flashback_

Hector looked at them skeptically, "Do you honestly believe that we would believe that?"

Eliwood, being the only sensible one in this story so far, spoke up in their defense, "But Hector, we did see a dark spot in the woods and it matched up with what they said about the spilling ink."

"Well I suppose, but we should all head back about now. The others will be wondering what happened to Lyn and Mark and if they created any smart swordsman or woman."

Lyn and Mark blushed at this and they went to find their clothing which was adequately dry. It seems that the rumors from yesterday hadn't let up yet. Well, they had to deal with it eventually.

Going back wasn't as bad as they thought. The group mostly left them alone and went on with their daily business. Some smiled at them but no one asked any questions. Either they finally moved on from teasing Mark and Lyn (yeah right! Fat chance of that happening) or they are afraid of Lyn coming after them on warpath again and Mark forcing them to train even harder.

They hadn't forgotten what Canas said and Mark was feeling a surge of emotions fighting to get out and force him to kiss a girl at least. He was more worried about what would happen after the kissing started. Luckily, they got to Canas in the library without causing an incident. He was inside the same room again with Erk and Lucius who looked even worse. Lyn probed at their health and wondered if Mark ever ran into this problem. Their health, which she put on a chart, was less than one point. It was like 0.00000189 (okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating a _little_ bit). Serra and Pricilla were called in and they were healing as fast as they can. Mark was reprimanding the magic users for doing such a foolish thing, especially since he was the source of all the problems. Lyn can tell that Mark hates it when others are put in harm's way for his sake.

Canas took a breath before speaking up, "Anyway, Mark, you'll remember what I said about needing to kiss?" Mark nodded yes. "Well, that was only a temporary seal as you'll notice that your desire for more is increasing." Mark nodded again. "This seal today will make it more permanent so we won't have to recast it everyday."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa Canas," Lyn looked up sharply. "What do you mean permanent?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. Since somebody, who shall remain unnamed, messed up the earlier spell, Mark is like this now. Either way he'll be an incubus, but with this, he'll be in more control and there won't be any little Marks running around."

"But isn't there a…"

"I'm sorry Lyn, my lords, and Mark. There are no other options." Canas concluded softly.

Mark didn't say anything. He just nodded his head to show his consent. Canas led him to the circle and the three magic users started the second spell to make it more permanent. After they were done, Mark just looked at them.

"Mark, are you alright? How do feel?" Lucius asked.

Mark looked down at himself, flexed a little bit, and looked back up at them with a quizzical expression on his face. "Yeah, I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Hmm…" Erk thought. "Perhaps Mark is different. Technically, you should be out for an hour or so. Your body may be different to an extent that the after affects doesn't affect you. Why?..."

They thought about this for about five more seconds before Mark ushered them out and get checked by the healers. He wanted to make sure that they were properly fed and so forth and refused to move the camp until they are back to full health.

Mark wasn't feeling any different. He didn't feel that compulsive to go after the females. He learned that if he ate larger than normal meals, he can stave off the urge to feast for a while. He still needed to feed on a host though; human food can only do so much.

The army also received some disturbing news. A letter arrived for them while they were in the port. It was signed by someone with red ink, AKA blood, and it held disheartening news.

_**Dear Fellowship of Mark,**_

**_I am well aware that Mark is changed and is now more or less an incubus. Know this though; he is not a normal one. He will still require a female host to sake his lust. I know about the ritual so he won't do anything too bad except for stealing a girl's first kiss. That is a serious offence to all the guys who are reading this. Anyway, he will not only need to sake his lust, but he will also periodically need to sake his bloodlust. During this period, he will want to spill and drink blood. Be careful his is highly dangerous during this time. Luckily, his bloodlust is more or less predictable than his lust. According to my calculations, his bloodlust should be sometime around the new moon, that's when it is not visible, Hector. You can trust me, or you can deem me untrustworthy. You'll just have to see._**

**_Luxuria, daughter of _**

**_Uther, of the clan_**

_**Sauris, of the land **_

_**Tamara**_

Suffice to say, Mark was very shaken up when that letter was read. He sensed that the letter had a deeper meaning but he couldn't place his finger on it. The others think that it was just a ploy by the opposition to unnerve them and that none of them had anything to worry about.

Still, Mark was concerned. On the eve of the next new moon, it was two weeks since they arrived in Tortuga and they were on the move again approximately 52 kilometers from the port, Mark decided to play it safe. He gathered chains of wrought iron and chained himself to the inside of a storage compartment. He also put a lock on the outside and told everyone that none may approach no matter what happens until morning when the sun comes out, not one minute earlier.

It was horrible that night. Mark was screaming as the bloodlust controlled his mind. _How dare they lock me up?! I require blood._ Mark pounded the door. These thoughts raced around his head calling for blood. He clawed at everything he can find which wasn't much except for the walls and floor.

In his fury he didn't noticed. After he calmed down a little, he noticed a pool of red beneath him. Hungrily, he lunged at the crimson pool lapping up the blood. He traced the blood back to his forearm where he must have injured it while looking for blood. At this sight, even though it was his own, it drove him into another frenzy searching for more of the liquid. He tore at his skin trying to rip them to get at the liquid of life.

The rest of the army heard the screams coming from the compartment and a few made to move towards it until one of their more rational members pulled them down and reminded them of Mark's words. The howls went well into the night and most figured that the wild animals around the camp were probably too afraid to come near. Around midnight, the compartment was silent.

When the first rays of the sun peeked through the mountain tops, the lords and healers with some others rushed to Mark's holding area. A rich smell of freshly spilt blood reached their noses. They opened the door to a ghastly sight and Serra was caught by Erk before she fainted. Mark was on the ground, barely dressed as his clothes were ripped. He was bathed in blood from head to toe and deep wounds were inflicted on every place reachable by his hands. His fingernails were ripped off and blood oozed freely from the wound. He flipped his nails trying to claw his way out of the room.

Trying hard not to vomit, the healers cast their healing spells to close up his wounds. Then most of the people present ran off to find medical supplies to help Mark while the healers and the lords stayed behind to clean up Mark. The spells healed most of the flesh and skin wounds, but his fingernails will have no choice but to grow back. They carefully rinsed off the blood and bandaged what ever wounds that weren't closed with the spells, including his fingernails.

When Mark finally awoke, he found himself inside a cart that was usually reserved for the wounded warriors. Well, he supposed that he was wounded, though dishonorably so he wasn't a warrior. Lyn came in a few times to check up on him and feed him and give him water along with his medicine. Overall, Mark was very grateful. He also asked several questions about what happened to him. He couldn't remember his night very well.

After explain to the best of her ability, Lyn made to leave before noticing Mark fumbling around with his bandages. He wanted to remove them. Lyn rushed forward to stop him.

"Come on Lyn, why can't I remove them?"

"You know good and well why. You have to get better."

"But they itch so badly!"

"Well…what?"

"You heard me, they itch."

"Wounds aren't supposed to itch."

"Well, they ache as well but my fingers really itches."

"Hold on Mark, I'll call the healers to see what's up."

Lyn left Mark to find the others. Mark meanwhile was still fidgeting. By the time Lyn came back, Mark got the bandages off of his fingers and was staring at them in shock of what had happened. The others were also staring in shock. His fingers were almost completely healed. His nails grew back to nearly its normal length. It seems Mark is just full of surprises.

Well, the bloodlust was the easy part. It was predictable and Mark basically healed himself once he woke up and the healers just have to heal him once they find him in the morning. His actual lust for females was a bit harder to control. Often, he would sneak glances at the girls.

He would keep himself restrained from going near them unless it was necessary, but he looked up at them whenever he could. Nearly every girl had caught his eye. Even little Nino, whom Mark admitted was too young and he shouldn't be looking at her or any girl in such a demeaning way. That and that Nino had Jaffar as a bodyguard and Mark didn't want to have to face him, even if he'll probably win against the assassin.

One day Mark just couldn't control it. He was weak and hungry from depriving himself of the energy. He was tired and just wanted to collapse, but he didn't for some reason. Noticing this, Eliwood recommended for Mark to take a nap. Mark politely refused. Eliwood knew that his tactician and friend couldn't go on like that for much longer so he had Lord Pent prepare a special sleeping draught and put it into Mark's food. Mark at it and went out like a light. Hector moved him to his tent for some well deserved peace and quiet.

Mark woke to see himself walking. He can tell that it wasn't his own free will that was making the body move. It was something else. He saw his reflection when he passed a pan in the kitchen. Someone else was controlling him!

"Correct Mark, as always."

"Who are you? Show yourself."

"How am I going to do that? I am you."

"What?!"

"Well, I'm the demon part of you that is released since you were depriving yourself of nutrition. Being the kind person that I am, I decided to help you out to find you a feast. How about her?"

"No, you leave Florina out of this. She is just getting over her fear of men and I'm not letting you undo my work."

"Fine, fine. Who would you like to feast on then? Don't worry about the details. Just pick a girl and I'll handle the rest. Pick a good looking one please."

"No that's disgusting. The females are humans as well and so doing that is just wrong."

"Well we don't really have much of a choice Mark. You have these two choices, you can either save yourself and place one girl at a small risk or you can sacrifice yourself and let the army grieve and die at the hands of the opposition. Choose."

"I choose neither. I'll find a way to survive without having to use them."

"Oh how selfish of you, wanting both. Well, you don't really have that much of a say in the matter since I'm controlling your body. So just sit back, relax, don't worry I'll even let you feel what I'm going to do to one of the lucky girls."

"What?! No, don't…"

The demonic Mark smirked, his first victim. Lyn was just walking right up to him. This was too easy. He droned out his other self and walked towards Lyn.

"Lyn would you come by my tent tonight?" Mark asked in a seductive voice.

Lyn's eyes seem to glaze over slightly before they returned to normal and she replied, "Sure Mark, I'll be there."

"Great, I'm sure we'll have fun." Mark left with a feral grin.

That night Lyn showed up like she was supposed to. Mark stood out of his chair and walked to her.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Oh no Lyn, you see, I didn't have anything to talk about. I came here for some action."

"What do you mean?" Lyn asked nervously as she backed up against the tent wall.

"Oh, you'll see." Mark said in a voice layered unknown magic. He walked closer to her and opened up his mouth. Lyn could see his canines growing sharper and longer. It wasn't long before she was engulfed in a field of pitch darkness.

**Don't worry, Lyn will be fine. It's not too bad. Mark is honorable... enough. Just read the next chapter to find out what really happened. Sorry if this chapter moved on so fast. I think I was half asleep when I was writing this.**


	14. Chapter 12: Hidden Danger in the Midst

**Okay, here's where we find out what actually happened. Enjoy!**

Chapter 12: Hidden Danger in the Midst

Lyn woke up groggily. Last night had been a blur. Slowly, memories started to flow back in. She didn't remember what happened after Mark started to advance on her but he wouldn't do anything bad. Would he?

Add to that, her clothes were slightly ruffled. Lyn started to freak out. No, no, Mark was honorable. He would never take advantage of a woman, especially if she was unconscious. He would take her to a bed of some sort, make sure that she is comfortable, and then wander off to do whatever he does until she awakens.

But then again… Mark has been acting weird lately. Perhaps being an incubus changed him. After all, he can barely control his bloodlust, how is he supposed to control his lust.

Lyn was pondering these thoughts throughout the whole day. The entire camp was noticing something strange going on between Lyn and Mark. They were both avoiding each other and would look up at the other before blushing and looking away. By now, everyone knows about Mark's condition. The thought that ran through everyone's heads was "Did they really do it?"

Several of the girls became all giggly, well except for Nino because she didn't know what was going on and was fishing with Jaffar, and they all went up to Lyn to ask her cryptic questions like, "So Lyn, how did it go?" and other stuff like that. They guys on the other hand would go up to Mark and slap him on the back. Some, like Hector, used this excuse to slap him exceptionally hard and Matthew kept on coming back to slap him repeatedly.

Lyn was confused because cryptic messages weren't really her specialty. It was more of something to ask Mark but she couldn't do that at the moment, after all, what would he think? Mark wasn't faring so much better because he, despite what he seems, is clueless at slang or other hip actions. It wasn't until Lucius came up to him and congratulated him that he understood.

"Mark, wait up one moment please."

"Ah, Lucius what do you want to talk to me about? Don't tell me you also want to hit me. PLEASE DON'T DO IT! IT HURTS!" Mark yelled and cringed at the last part.

Lucius stared at him wide eyed for a moment before remembering that this was Mark he was talking to and that Mark will often go off on a tangent for no reason. "Um, no Mark. I was not going to hit you. I just wanted to congratulate you and Lyn on your newfound relationship. I just want you to know that you have my blessings and my full support. May St. Elimmine's blessings be with you too." Lucius started to leave before Mark stops him.

"Hold on there a moment Lucius. What do you mean 'relationship'? Me and Lyn don't have a-… oh… I see… Well that's interesting…"

"Mark, are you alright? Should I get a healer?"

Mark snapped out of his reverie. "No Lucius, but you can go gather everyone and bring them to the conference area. Make sure that Lyn gets there."

Lucius nodded and ran off. Mark, meanwhile, went to his tent and prepared for his speech. This was going to be important and big. This day as well. Mark just had a feeling about that. Even without his ring, his sixteenth sense told him about stuff like this.

Mark went to the conference area a few minutes later to see that everyone had came in, including Lyn. Mark walked up to the makeshift podium and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

A murmur passed through the army as they awaited his speech.

"Now then, I suppose that I should explain why such a quick meeting was assembled. The reason is that I have reasons to believe that there are some rumors floating around regarding me and Lyn."

Another murmur passed through the crowd but no one dared to speak out because they knew that Mark would decapitate them and put their heads on a pike to show as an example to others. Lyn was trying to get away, but Hector grabbed her by the scruff of her shirt. He was really enjoying this.

"Let me just get one thing straight," Mark's eyes narrowed dangerously and a chill passed over the crowd. "There is nothing going on between me and Lyn so keep to yourself. Even if there was something going on, it would be our business, not yours, so butt out. Thank you."

As Mark left the stage, many of the members looked down in shame and others in shock (they didn't think about that). They hadn't meant to pry but they agree that Mark and Lyn need some sort of love life. They weren't prying into their love life; they were prying into their lack of a love life. Then again, they can't really argue that Mark had a point and that they were meddling with something that they shouldn't. After all, some of them got the person they loved most and if someone interfered, that may have never happened.

After shaking themselves out of their stupor, they went back to their duties before the meeting was called. Lyn, on the other hand, headed for Mark. She wanted to know what really happened.

She found Mark lying on his stomach by the side of the river. He had one finger swirling in the river, playing with the fishies that happened to swim by. His face was of utmost serenity and full of childhood whimsical and he was humming a senseless tune. It was strange how he can be of one personality one moment and the extreme opposite in the next. But then again it was Mark, so anything's possible.

_At times like this, he seems almost like a little kid. He can seem so old at times, but he really is just new to this world. Maybe this is why I like him so much. WAIT! What am I talking…err…thinking about?! I don't not like Mark. I mean I don't hate him. I mean…_

"Lynnnn! Are you in there?" Mark asked knocking on her head.

Lyn quickly stepped back in shock, shaking her head to clear it of these unclean thoughts. Gathering up her courage, she gave took a deep breath.

"Mark, I want to know what happened last night. I want to know every detail."

Mark's face grew dark. "Do you really want to know?" Lyn was slightly taken back by his change in personality again but she stood fast and nodded. Then Mark's face went from dark to panic. "Are you sure you really want to know?" Lyn nodded again. "Really?"

Lyn was getting fed up. "Mark, just tell me what happened!"

"OK, OK, just making sure."

Mark took a breath before retelling what happened. "Yesterday, I found out about my other self. I'm not sure how or if he's a part of multiplicity, one of my many facets, or just part of a Jekyll-Hyde Syndrome."

Lyn looked at him confused but she let him continue.

"Any way, he must have gotten out because I was really hungry and I couldn't fight back as well. So he went around looking for potential food and… we—I—He—it… ran into you.

"He or it, because I didn't, decided that you were going to be our dinner. So he got you to come by the tent where he was planning to feast. He was going to do something really bad to you that I don't want to say because of the many innocent eyes that might read this."

Lyn opened her mouth to say something but stopped halfway, again letting him continue. When you are dealing with Mark, you have to know when to ask questions because some of what he says has nothing to do with the topic at all.

"So he moved forward and that's when you started to faint. I managed to get out before any permanent bodily harm was done to you."

"Hold on Mark, how did you get out? You said you couldn't because you were too weak from the lack of energy."

"Oh…err… he was planning on letting me feel the _pleasure_ of what was going to happen. So he loosened up some of the control so I managed to jerk the rest of it away from him." Mark's face was beginning to blush. As soon as Lyn realized what happened, or nearly happened, she started to blush as well.

"OK," Mark said with an obvious fake yawn, "I believe that that's my cue to exit."

"Hold up a moment," Lyn cried out. "What else happened?"

Mark started to get worried again. "Come on Lyn, what else could have happened? You are not really making this any easier."

Lyn started to advance on him.

"Please Lyn, don't make me say it. I really didn't mean it."

She kept coming towards him. She was finally right in front of him.

"Fine… we… err… ah… sorta… kissed." Mark finished weakly.

Lyn's heart skipped a beat. "Wha-what?"

Mark's face was turning to a whole new shade of red that Elibe have never seen. "We kissed. Okay? And—mmph"

Mark was in total shock. Lyn had just leaned forward and kissed him. Not knowing what to do, Mark leaned forward and kissed her back. It took concentration, but Mark was determined not to let his hands roam. He didn't want to ruin the moment.

When they finally broke, they were blushing hard and panting heavily. Mark looked directly into Lyn's eyes. "Why did you kiss me?"

Lyn knew she couldn't lie her way out of this one. Mark was looking for every detail that would be given if she lied. "Why, Mark? Why else do you think?"

Mark nodded slowly and turned around to walk way. Lyn was staring at him in shock and disbelief. She was pouring her heart out to him and he was just walking away. She wanted to cry, but she knew she wouldn't. Any man that caused her to shed such petty tears were not worthy of her.

Mark paused for a little while. "I'm glad you feel the same way." He continued forward towards camp. Lyn looked up after she registered what he said. A bright smile lit up her face. She happily followed Mark back to camp.

Neither of them noticed a pair of sadden red iris eyes looking from the shadows…

**You know, I realized something. My chapter titles seem to reflect more on the upcoming chapters than the current one. Oh well, just a rambling thought. So Mark and Lyn finally got together. This can only mean blackmail material. Knowing Mark, he'll find someway to counter it though. **

**Anyway, the action should come back in a few chapters. It might be a while because I have to make a model of Dante's Inferno. I was also thinking of writing a prequel for this story. It would be about either Mark's journey (the one that was played) or about the supposed 'bad guys' in this story. I don't plan on writing it until I've finished this story though, so people who enjoy this story won't have to worry. Please tell me what you think I should work on next.**


	15. Chapter 13: Fury in the Sand

**Technically, the whole part where part of the circle was written in her blood does have something to do with it. It was edited out at the last minute. Just know, Mark has a really close relationship with those guys. Also, in regards to the blood seal thing, Mark is not one, but he's also not another.**

**"We percieve the world as our senses tell us. This is not the real world that we are witnessing."**

**"If you should doubt yourself, then you will subconsciously sabatoge yourself to achieve a much more realistic result like the one you envisioned."**

**Both of these have something to do with Mark's life, but then again, it also has something to do with our life if you think about it.**

**Anyway, after dancing around the point I was trying to get across, I'm really sorry for not updating any sooner and that this update is rather short. There were problems that I had to take care of before it got too big. Hopefully I'll be able to write more this break. But that's only hopefully.**

Chapter 13: Fury in the Sand

Mark groaned. The last night was horrific. It had been two weeks since his kiss with Lyn and everyone seems to know about it. That wasn't the worse part. He found out that he constantly needed to kiss her to keep his energy up because they were moving at a faster rate. She was totally drained the first time but she was getting used to it. He didn't want to admit it, but he was starting to crave her.

Lyn came up with a plan. She met Mark behind his tent every night before they went to sleep. There, they shared a quick kiss. It wasn't any thing special, just something to keep Mark's energy up. Of course, the camp blew it out of proportions and ended up on the receiving end of Mark and Lyn's glare.

Mark shook his head. Pent had given him some scrolls that he was unable to translate. '_Why does he think that I'll be able to translate them if he couldn't?'_ Mark thought ruefully. With a scowl, he looked over the ancient runes. He gasped as his eyes widened to the size of saucers. He let out a strangled scream before the world went black.

When he woke up, he looked into the concerned faces of his comrades. He looked around and found himself in the Ward of Injuries. He seems to find himself in the area a lot. After making sure that he was okay, they asked him what happened. Mark remembers and leapt out of bed, to the annoyance of Serra who insisted that he was still not well. ("Believe me when I say that I'm well enough." "Humph … _mutters about patients who don't know what was good for them_...)

Mark rushed to his tent to find his papers already restacked by Pent who was conveniently nearby.

"Pent, Pent, PENT!"

"What is it Mark?"

"You said you couldn't read the runes, right?"

"Yes. I did say that."

"Okay, how about now?" Mark handed the scroll over to Pent who scanned over it quickly.

"Nope, it's still just a bunch of squiggles to me."

"Yo Mark! What's the matter with you running off on us like that?" Mark looked up to see Hector screaming at him being followed by Lyn and Eliwood.

"But it can't be. I can understand every that the scroll says. And I'm sure I've never seen this language before."

"Are you sure?"

"I just said that I was."

"Well, what does it say?"

"Hmm… the first part seems to be a poem. _Hidden from a world of lies, in barren wasteland lies paradise. Look in the sea of sand, where thy sleeps the Holy Land._"

"What…does…it…mean?" Eliwood managed to pant out as he caught up with his friends.

"Isn't it obvious?" Mark said thoughtfully. "We head out for Athos' place in the desert. I mean, 'sea of sand', it's kind of obvious. Pent, I trust that you know the way there?"

"Of course, I shall go and prepare."

"Get Louise and Hawkeye to go with you!" Mark shouted at Pent's retreating form.

The three lords couldn't help but feel rather left out of the loop at the moment. It took a while, but Mark managed to explain the situation to them.

"So let me get the straight," Hector began. "You fainted from reading?"

"Shut up Hector!"

"Ooh, burned."

Mark grumbled as he walked to his tent. He sat down and sifted through his memories. Mark was a man of logic. He can pretty much describe anything using logic, even magic. However, this did not make sense. How could he have known what that scroll said even without having to go through the painstaking task of jotting down symbols and such.

Pent said that he brought the scroll with him from the library in Tortuga. He said that it caught his eye and that was the reason he wasn't able to aid the other spell casters in the ritual.

It was strange, and Mark wouldn't stand for it. Wait, he's already sitting, so he must… never mind. Anyway, perhaps it was just some trick of the light. _Yeah right Mark, you keep telling yourself that. OK._ He took up the scroll after he packed away his meager possessions and walked outside. To everyone he met, he held up the scroll and asked them if they can read what was written. To his disappointment, no one could… until he reached Lyn.

"Lyn, can you read this for me?"

"Uh, sure, no problem. _Hidden from a world of lies, in barren wasteland lies paradise._ Isn't that what was written on the scroll you read from this morning?"

"Lyn, that's the same scroll."

"WHAT?! But I can read it perfectly."

"I know. Oh boy, the plot thickens!"

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Don't worry about it."

In about half an hour, the camp was ready to move. It was only three days of easy trekking to get to the edge of the desert. Everything was alright, and Mark continued to feed off of Lyn who was getting better.

"This place brings back a lot of memories."

"That it does, my Lord Pent."

"Louise, how many times must I tell you? You don't have to call me that."

"Come both of you. Mark asked us to lead the group to Athos' hideaway."

Louise and Pent gave each other one last look and hurried off to collect their group. Mark divided the team up into three groups for each of them to lead. They would still stick together, but it was easier to manage with a smaller group.

They reached their destination without too much trouble. Some of the weaker members were buffeted by the wind and sand but other than that, it was alright. Mark noticed Ninian was seeking comfort from Eliwood. He just shook his head and continued on to the place where the former 'Living Legend' used to live.

The place was old as he remembered it and still seemed alive with the magical energy residue. He looked over to where his lords were catching their breaths. Strange, why was everyone exhausted and he wasn't? Even Hawkeye seems tired.

It must have something to do with his incubus blood, he concluded. He noticed Lyn was stretching now. He couldn't stop himself from staring at her. Her graceful limbs, her soft curves… Mark's mind was now on a tangent.

Lyn on the other hand was still oblivious. She suddenly stops stretching. The ring on her hand was pulling her towards something. Lyn knew it wasn't wise to leave behind her friends, but she was pretty sure that there wasn't anything too dangerous in the area.

The ring led her to the library where the massive tomes of arcane arts resided. The air seemed to be charged with magic. The ring led her to a podium where there was a book in chains. Fine dust covered it, obscuring the title. Lyn ran a finger along the spine to remove some of the dust.

As soon as she ran her finger on the old book, the ring glowed red. The chains seem to melt away. Lyn quickly scurried back with her hand on the hilt of her sword, ready for any demon that was released from the book. She waited a while before cautiously moving towards the book.

Carefully, she opened the cover to find, not pages, but a map. The entire inside of the book seemed to have been cut out to place in a single old piece of parchment. She pocketed her find and rushed back to her friends to tell them about it.

Mark was slightly worried that Lyn was gone. He finally snapped out of his trance long enough to notice that he'd been ogling empty space. Lyn came back with the map making him incredibly relieved that she's back. He ran up to her and hugged her in his enthusiasm shocking everyone.

After getting a hold of himself, Lyn showed them the map. It was a very detailed map of the desert. At the bottom was a signature. A signature that matched Mark's. Mark stared at it palely. There were too many unanswered questions and loose ends. He didn't make the map and many other things that he doesn't remember doing.

In the end, the group decided that they didn't really have anything to lose. They've come this far and a map with Mark's signature has to be a good omen… Otherwise, it was a bad omen, but let's not get into that.

They decided to head out in the morning as it was night at the moment. Everyone bunkered down after a comforting meal. It was deep into the night when everyone woke up… to the sound of a roar on the desert winds.

Mark was among the first to wake up. He looked around blearily for a moment before gathering some flight riders and magic users.

"Go out for a recon. Do not, under any circumstances, involve yourself. Report back here first before doing anything. Come back in five minutes."

Five minutes later, they came back with their reports. Each person was talking over the other, their voices overlapping. It was hard to make anything out of the din.

"We saw them!"

"It was incredible!"

"Excuse me?"

"Really big and furry!"

"All of them!"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, it was so cool!"

"Did you see the formation?!"

"What are you talking about?"

"It looked like a professional army!"

"But it couldn't be!"

"EXCUSE ME!!!!!!!!!!" Mark screamed. "Now then, will someone give me a clear, concise, logical, and most importantly, not boring explanation?"

"I will," Heath spoke up. "From the sky, I saw rows of formation. They were marching so in synch that one would think that they were a professional army. I noticed that there were no archers so I flew in for a closer look."

"Wait, what would a professional army be doing in the middle of nowhere?"

"That's the thing Mark. They weren't…human."

"Wh-what?"

"I saw them too." Vaida motioned. "Beasts on all fours, scouring through the sands."

"Wolves?"

"No," Erk said thinking back. "They were more…feline. Like lions."

"I see. Did you see their leader?"

All of them shook their heads. "Alright then. Go and prepare yourselves. I'll get the others."

Mark went around to the entire camp, waking his fighters. They all assembled and Mark gave them directions basing off of Lyn's reading. The opposition was no doubt hostile, as it tried to attack Florina and several others when they went out to meet with the army. The formations were in straight lines. The answer was simple. Simply pick them off line by line.

The plan worked rather well… for about ten minutes. Then the army saw what was happening and decided to go berserk and kill everything in its path. Mark motioned to the lords to follow him into the thick and find the leader to end the fighting quickly. As they were rushing through, Mark noticed that indeed, something was amiss. Their opponents weren't humans, but really large cats. Lions and tigers would be a closer description of them. They had different colored furs; Mark swore that he saw a blue furred one being taken down by Erk's Elfire.

They finally reached to the end of a sand dune when they saw a looming shadow. Perhaps it was just coincident, or perhaps I'm using it for dramatic effects, but the moon came out from behind the clouds, basking the figure in its pale light.

The man was heavily muscle-bounded and had tattoos all over his body. He was also taller than any member of the group and was almost as twice as tall as Mark, though he is rather short (He's shorter than Lyn). From the looks of it, he could have picked Hector up and snapped him in half, something that Mark did not want to think about. He wasn't wearing a shirt but he was wearing the '_thing'_ that Hawkeye wears.

He spoke in a low growl slowly. "So you are the ones I am to target. You do not seem so strong. Heed my words, I am Leonis. I am here to take the target, Mark, to his rightful place. You need not fight me. Just show me where Mark is."

Lyn instinctively moved in front of Mark, but he sidestepped her. "Here I am, what do you want of me?"

"I only ask that you come back with me to where you belong. That is all."

"No way. Mark ain't going anywhere." Lyn cried. She ran forward with her Mani Katti drawn.

"Foolish," Mark and Leonis muttered. Leonis stood there while Mark ran forward and tackled Lyn out of the way.

At that moment, Leonis finished charging up and punched with his right hand yelling, "Fist of the Beast King!" An orange fiery lion head shot out of his hand and razed the area where Lyn was standing had Mark not pushed her out of the way.

"Why do you save her?"

"Because she is my friend."

"Hmm… so I see. My information was not misled. You truly are under their spell." He charged up again, this time using his left hand. "Curse of the Beast King." A purple lion head shot out heading for Eliwood who jumped out of the way. Unfortunately, part of his cape seemed to…melt…I think…away…

Yeah, it melted away. Mark looked up to see it happening. "Be careful of his 'Curse of the BK'. If it touches your armor, it'll melt it. If it touches you, I don't want to think about it."

"Yeah, we kinda got that part from what happened to Eliwood here. Why don't you tell us something we don't know?"

Mark bit back a retort. This was neither the time nor place. "Alright then, if you get hit with it, you have a chance of being melted or poisoned, depending on what he feels like. His 'Fist of the BK' doesn't have any special effects, but it will hurt like hell."

"Say wha-?" Hector started but got nailed by a 'Fist of the BK'. Luckily, Renault was standing nearby and healed Hector up before rushing back into the battle.

They kept going by trading blows. They had hoped that he would tire out sooner or later, but it had been half an hour since they started and he doesn't seem to be tiring at all. They, however, were wiped out.

"Come Mark. If you truly wish to see my worth, why are you hiding behind those weaklings? Why not fight me to judge my words?"

Mark stared at this guy as if he was crazy. Him fight? He couldn't fight to save his life. Which was pretty much the point of fighting. Being distracted like this didn't help him. Lyn was unfortunate enough to get a 'Fist of the BK' right in the gut. She was sent back flying and sprawled on the ground.

"LYN!" They all screamed as they ran up to her. Mark noticed that she was bleeding from the mouth, she can be internally bleeding. Eliwood was signaling for a healer while Hector was warding off some of the cats.

For some odd reason, Mark just wanted to kiss her. This wasn't really appropriate, she was vulnerable and defenseless, and so why did that just made kissing her appeal to him all the more? It wasn't just the kiss, he also craved for blood. Why? It wasn't the new moon. He can see it right behind the guy. Giving in to his desires (naughty) and hoping for the best, he leaned down and kissed her gently.

A pulse of energy dispersed the air. Mark stood up and stared at Leonis. A small trickle of blood ran from the corners of his lips. He did more than kiss her, he drank her blood. Mark's eyes were no longer golden. They were a violent shade of red.

Mark rushed forward at Leonis, who had no time to even blink. In less than two seconds, a perfect circle was blown through Leonis' chest. Mark's hand didn't even touch him. Leonis could only look at Mark and the rather big hole in his chest in surprise. Mark regained himself and noticed in shock what he had just done.

"Hahaha," Leonis started laughing. "I see now. Mark's mind been taken over by bad people." His grammar seemed simpler now too. "No worry Mark. We get you back. _'rivers run red like blood, reflected by the-_…'" He gasped out his final words as he fell backwards and died. At that, it seemed like the rest of his army faded away. Some slipped in to the shadows, some were claimed to have become the shadows.

Mark stood up shakily. Lyn was mostly healed now by the stave users, though she'll have a difficult time doing anything strenuous for two or three days. She made her way over to him. In an act of pure turmoil emotions, he pulled her closed and cried in her chest. Lyn was shocked at this display. Mark was a tactician. One who saw death for what it really was and what it really **_meant_**. But here he was, crying over one opponent. They must have killed several hundreds, if not thousands, over their journey.

Then she realized something. Even if Mark was a tactician, he was really just a small kid. No child should ever have to witness death, more or less cause it. Some can deal with it, others can't. Which one was Mark? Some can deal with it, or have to deal with it because of something that happened in their early lives. Did something like that happen to Mark as well? Lyn didn't waste anytime pondering the questions. She did the only thing that felt right. She pulled Mark even closer and hugged him back.

Mark was eventually well enough to be walked back to his tent. No one was checked over by Mark, but they were fine with it. They were healed up well enough by the healers. After reaching his tent, Mark wouldn't let Lyn go. He kept a tight hold on her arm but didn't look her in the eye. He only stared at the wall in front of him.

Lyn looked up to Hector and Eliwood who gave her a helpless look. Lyn nodded her head and moved on the bed with Mark. Mark rolled over slightly so he was now partly on top of her. Lyn wrapped her arms around his chest and pulled him in closer. Eliwood and Hector decided to leave the two where they were, as to not ruin the moment.

That night, Lyn had another vision. It was flashes of the mysterious figure that was talking to Tamara and Tarin. He was still covered in shadows and only looked down and shook his head sadly. She woke up suddenly.

She heard Mark muttered, "Aniki-san…" before falling silent again. She fell back to sleep quickly and forgot about it in the morning.

**I'm not really sure if I like this chapter. I mean, not so much have happened. The story is getting thicker. The plot is probably going to have several more twists in it. Plot twists are funny, just like in Tales of Symphonia. So hopefully I'll get some more written and update it the week after this, but that is if I have any time out of my projects so I'm not making any promises.**

**Mark is down because he killed Leonis but didn't know that he was doing it. All of the previous deaths caused by him directly or indirectly were known and planned out. Well, all except one. Let's see if you remember when it happened. That's why he's freaked out right now. He is worried that he might go beserk around his friends the next time and kill them without knowing it. Knowing that you could have stopped something, but didn't is a horrible feeling. Like Survivor's Guilt.**


	16. Chapter 14: Arcadia

**I realize that I am dreadfully late but I have a good reason. For some reason my computer wouldn't let me upload any documents. Then none of the computers accesible to me will let me do that either. I just decided to try once more on another computer today and it WORKS! Yay!**

**I am really impressed that you thought of that answer. Regretfully, the death that I was referring to was the one on the first chapter. Tamara doesn't go down that easy. However, you are quite close in your guess that she has...or had...anyway, died. Your guess is really scary because it coincides with the later story so much. You'll just have to wait out what it means. You are correct in that assumption, but you are incorrect in pertaining to the details from last chapter.**

Chapter 14: Arcadia

The next morning, Lyn woke to find herself alone in Mark's tent. Mark had already woken up and wandered off. After stretching and doing her morning rituals, she went off to find Mark.

No one else she ran into saw him. This was looking familiar. She met up with Eliwood and Hector and they haven't seen Mark either. This was strange. A beautiful day and Mark hasn't even gone out to say hello to everybody, check up on everyone, make every person who is uninterested learn why the sky is blue (Light is made of wavelengths that are diffused by oxygen and nitrogen in the air. Since blue is the shortest wavelength, it's diffused up to ten times more. _Who told you that?_ A little girl on TV.).

They walked a little while and found him in the library writing down notes in his new notebook.

"Hey Mark, you're not going to die on us again are you?"

"No Hector," said Mark exasperatedly, "I have no intention of dying on you this time around. Last time was because…"

"Yeeessss, go on."

"Nah, it's nothing that directly concerns you."

"So it'll indirectly affect us."

"More or less."

"Oh, okay then, no worries."

"Anyway," Lyn said to try and steer the conversation away from something that she doesn't want to know, "So Mark, where are we heading to today."

"Lyn, Mark told us yesterday. We're heading out to that point on the map."

"Shut it Hector, I'm surprised that you even heard that since you usually fall asleep during one of Mark's speeches."

"Okay, that's enough you two. How are you doing this morning Eliwood? Lyn, that was hitting below the belt. And Hector, YOU FALL ASLEEP WHEN I'M GIVING DETAILS ON THE BATTLES?!"

"Calm down Mark. I'm fine this morning, we all are. The one we're worried about is you. And yes, Hector does fall asleep during those times."

"Oh well that's good to hear. I'm alright. Lyn, I'm sorry for that unexpected outburst yesterday. That was highly unprofessional. HECTOR! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF FALLING ASLEEP DURING MY SPEECHES?!"

"Not to worry Mark, what are friends for? Anyway, can we please get off the subjects of Hector falling asleep during your speeches? We have a ways to go from the looks of it on the map."

"Fine, we can go. Pack up your stuff and meet me at the entrance in five minutes. Hector, you're going to pay for falling asleep."

"Eeep."

So after five minutes, they found themselves at the entrance with everything packed. Mark and several other more studious members seem to have more books with them. They must have raided Athos' collection. With everything set, they headed out into the stormy desert.

It took several hours to get to the point. They stopped for a break. Not only were they tired and hungry, they didn't understand what to do at the point.

When they reached it, it was like a mirage. A large ring was standing straight up, with its edge no more than a thumb's width. It stood on a raised alter with great curved wings reaching up to the apex of the circle. Everything was gilded. The figure stood high above the dunes that surrounded it, but its location was cleverly hidden. Even through the shifting sand dunes, had anyone came in any other direction, the golden…thing would still be hidden.

The strange thing was that Pent and Louise found a mark that signified that it was a creation of Athos. They also found several similar marks on the scrolls they carried from his library. After circling around it for the 38th time, they found something else strange. It was an orb with a demon's wing and an angel's wing.

Several strange runes were also written, and this was what got them the break in the first place. Mark can easily read it, but there was so much that he decided to write it down. Pent volunteered to help out along with Canas because they both wanted to learn the new language.

Two hours later when everyone managed to set up camp, they heard joyful screaming from the figure. Everyone raced up to see what was happening. They saw Mark, Pent, and Canas running around like idiots screaming and laughing in the full desert heat. Mark was singing.

"You can dance, you can dance, everybody look at my pants."

The three lords came up to them, fearing that their brains had finally melted from the heat. Then they found out that the three lunatics finally deciphered all of the runes. It took more than 17 scrolls. Many of them couldn't even write half a scroll in a day.

"Anyway, this is a really big achievement," Mark said really fast.

"Yep, Athos and apparently Mark made this thing."

"I'll have no idea why though."

"It'll say so in the scroll once we read them."

"I don't remember making this though."

"But you have been missing a lot of your memories."

"True that. Okay lets read."

All of that was said in a matter of one minute. Two minutes later they all exclaimed that they finished.

"DONE!"

"DONE!"

"COMPLETED!"

"T-that was fast…" said everyone else shakily.

"Was that for all 17 scrolls?"

"Yep!"

"Okay, so what did it say?"

"Well Mark, why don't you explain this one?"

"Yes, since it is your creation, you will probably have a subconscious connection with it."

"Okay, sure why not. The mechanisms of this figure are quite astounding. This my friends is a portal. Similar to the Dragons' Gate that we saw but also quite different. This gate connects two points on this world. The way that this happens seems complex at first but it relatively simple once you get down to it. The plane we live in is folded and… HEY! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?!"

Everyone was asleep. It was much too hot to do this kind of heavy thinking. So after waking everyone else up, Mark gave it the simple and sweet version. They needed more time on this to find out where the portal would take them and how to activate it.

"Knowing Athos, he would have some kind of doohickey or special lock to start this thing."

"That is true my Lord Pent. Remember the bathrooms at his place."

"I remember, Louise, you had to turn them a certain way, for a certain amount of turns before it opens. And don't call me 'Lord'."

"Forgive me my Lord Pent."

"Forget it."

"Okay, well if you two love birds are done, then perhaps you can help Canas and me. We're a bit stuck on what to do."

"No problem Mark. We're on our way."

After several more hours, they still couldn't find anything.

"It should be something simple Mark."

"Too simple. Something that even I would look over."

"Sounds like something you and Athos would do."

"Hmm…"

So several hours later, they still couldn't find anything. It was late into the night and everyone had gone to sleep. Everyone except Mark.

"There has to be something. Something I'm overlooking. Heh, talking to yourself isn't a great way to remind yourself that you're sane."

He turned away from the runes written on the figure to the ones on the scrolls. The way they were originally written, it started in a center and rotated outwards. Because of this, they had to jot down runes and words and rewrite them in standard writing format.

"Hmm? Strange. Could it be? Aruthe Cadamis Iatos. Yeah, this could be it. Aruthe Cadamis Iatos. Lieth Inu Fontus Tuum Façade…"

As he was muttering this to himself, he paced around the figure his hand lingering on the runes as he spoke. Eventually, it led him up the steps to the circle. He saw a flash of light and muttered "Uh-oh," before disappearing in another flash of light.

The next morning, everyone woke up and no one has seen Mark, AGAIN!

"Is he just disappearing in the morning just to spite us?"

"I don't think so, I'm sure he must have something important…"

"AHHH!"

"Quick, that sounds like Pent and Canas."

"They're at the Big Thing."

"Weird Figure, Hector."

"Whatever."

They found Pent and Canas scurrying over the sand trying to dig it up.

"What are you two doing?"

"Mark left the scrolls lying around last night!"

"Now they're all covered in sand."

"When I get my hands around his scrawny little neck-"

Just then, the portal flashed again and Mark came tumbling out. He had on a really gaudy orange festive mask. He also walked as if he was drunk.

"Heeeyyyyy Guys. What cha doing here?"

"Mark, are you okay?"

"Sllurre, I'm dandy." Then he leaned in close to Lyn, "I'm totally drunk."

"I can see that Mark. Man, we have to do something about your breath."

So after getting Mark under control again, they finally got a story out of him.

"So I was looking up the runes last night and it whisked me to a far away place. A world of wonder. A world…oh how can I describe this. Ah, I know! With a song!"

So Mark started to sing "What's This" from A Nightmare Before Christmas. He didn't even bother to substitute in words so everyone was left confused. Noticing this after he finished his song and bowed, he told everyone to pack up and head towards the gate. There, he touched the runes in order and opened the portal. They all stepped into it, and came to a whole new world.

They stepped off into a town that was bustling with business. It was active, but with a homely feeling to it. Some girls noticed them and came forward. Sain noticing this prepared his smile and flashed it at them. They just ignored him and moved towards Mark.

"Master Mark, how pleased we are to see you again. Last night was unforgettable."

Everyone was staring at Mark and he stared at the girls. "What are you talking about?"

The girls giggled. "Oh yes, you probably wouldn't remember. Master Mark, you really can't hold your alcohol."

"Yes, you were a true gentlemen last night. After that dance and dinner, you played with the children and still held on to that mature dignity."

"Oh," everyone breathed a sigh.

"It would seem that Mark is well known around here wouldn't it Lyn," Eliwood spoke as Mark bade the girls goodbye.

"Yeah, it really does."

"So Mark, where is this place."

"Welcome, to Jurassic Parks…I mean Arcadia!"

Arcadia, the land that Athos spoke of. The land where humans and dragons lived in harmony. A paradise on earth.

**I don't know what I was drinking when I wrote this. Maybe some punch. Oh well. Anyway, the theory that Mark was beginning to say was that the world is not a rigid fixture. That space can be manipulated and shifts accordingly, like a fabric so to speak. By folding the said fabric, you can close the distance between you and your destination and cross much faster. Then you just have to unfold the fabric and now you can be several miles away in a short distance.**


	17. Chapter 15: Catacombs

**Not much to say since I think I said everything in the last chapter. Oh well, Enjoy!**

Chapter 15: Catacombs

They started exploring the city. Everyone went their different directions. Some formed groups. Some of the magic users predictably went to the library as soon as they heard of it, riders went to water their mounts, the rest just wandered off to find something fun to do.

Mark walked off to look around at the sights that he just can't seem to remember after being drunk. Maybe that was a side affect of alcohol, temporary memory loss. Lyn, Hector, and Eliwood decided to head off in a different direction from Mark because he seems to be all moody. They went and had a great time exploring all of the great wonders that Arcadia beheld.

Eventually Mark came back to them around lunchtime and herded everybody into the café. The manager was very happy about the increase in customers. After everyone ordered their food and dined alfresco, because the diner couldn't hold all of them, Mark sat down with them to discuss of what to do next.

"So guys, what do you think of this place?"

"Well it's okay as everything goes. It has a nice atmosphere, calm yet active," Eliwood replied, taking in the beauty of the newfound world around him.

"Yeah, thish plmashe im grmate!"

"HECTOR! Will you PLEASE not talk while your mouth is full?"

Hector swallowed at the look Lyn was giving him before speaking, "Whatever."

"Honestly, some nobles have no upbringing."

"Now, now Lyn," Hector started, "You really shouldn't put yourself down like that."

"ARGGG!"

"Right then. I'll just be leaving. Good day to you Eliwood, Lyn and Hector if you two are even open to the rest of the world instead of being immature children glaring at each other. No? Then I'll just take my leave."

"See ya Mark," replied the only sensible lord left.

Mark walked past several tables who waved or said something to him before going back to their food. Mark closed off to the rest of the world for a moment. He left the lords because he saw someone that needed rescuing. That, and he didn't want to be around to break up the fight that Lyn and Hector were sure to have. Eliwood was sooooo much better at that job…He's going to be receiving an earful tonight from Eliwood.

Anyway, the person in question happened to be a girl, who just happened to be a waitress, who just happened to be serving the table where Sain was sitting. She was a shy type, but not as bad as Florina. Sain was being his usual self, flirting with anything that looks remotely like a girl. It wasn't much of a heroic save, but it'll have to do.

"What seems to be going on here?"

"Hmm? Oh Mark, I didn't see you there. I was just talking to this girl, a vision of dazzling loveliness."

"I see…well, perhaps I can join you on your interesting discussion."

"Err…that's…"

"Oh dear, it would seems that your boss is calling for you. Here's payment for the drinks, and a little tip for the little miss," Mark said winking at her.

"Thank you kind sirs," she said before hurrying off, either to get to her boss, or to get away from Sain.

"Now then Sain, I'm going to be off. I'll be sure to enlighten Kent of this episode."

"Wh-WHAT? Why?"

"Because he wants to keep track of what you do so he can properly reprimand you when the time comes or the situation calls for it." Mark said while leaving a shocked Sain behind.

'Well that was fun,' thought Mark in a sadistic kind of way. 'Ruining moments and causing misfortune are what I like to do. And a dee dee dee dum da doo doh do,' sang Mark inside his head. He needs professional psychiatric help. He needs it desperately.

Wondering where he's been walking, he found himself in front of a statue. It looked to be of a half nude guy. He was wearing a long cloth from his waist. How it was held up, Mark'll never know. He also had a lot of ornaments decorating him, and he was wearing a weird headdress. He was sitting on a great stone throne.

"That guy was a ruler in the past," an unknown voice spoke up behind him.

"Ah!" cried Mark, jumping back and taking a stance.

He looked to see a girl standing in front of him. Not particularly dangerous, but he couldn't afford to take chances. She had indigo hair and wore thick glasses. Her dress was simple but had decorative designs on it.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to cause trouble. I just saw you looking at the statue and was wondering if I could help. Hi! My name's Indigo."

"I'm Mark. I was just admiring this statue," said Mark slowly.

"Did you noticed the runes?" she asked, pointing at the base of the statue.

Mark leaned in closer to take a look. Indeed, at the base of the statue were small runes. Only one line was visible, and it was half buried by the pavement. Mark could tell that it was the same ones that he could read, but without the other half that was underground along with the rest of the passage.

"It's no good. They're half buried."

"Yeah, I know. I've been petitioning the Counsel to take up the area around there but they won't do it. They wouldn't do it for the other statues either. They said it wasn't cost effective and that no one really cares anyway."

"Yeah…wait. Other statues?"

"Oh yeah. There's bunches more. Come on, I'll show them to you."

Mark willingly went along with Indigo and viewed many of the statues. There was a griffin, a sphinx, a gargoyle, a deer, and a boar. They also had writing on them, but they were also buried. They were also running out of time to think. It was getting dark and they both need to get back to their friends and families.

"Well, I guess that this is where we'll split."

"Okay Mark. I hope I see you again while you're still in town."

With that they both headed their separate ways. 'I hope the others are doing okay. I hope I haven't worried them too much,' Mark thought as he walked into the inn where they were staying at. Inside, he saw a sight that welcomed him. Everyone was talking, laughing, and having fun. Even the lords, though Lyn looked slightly worried.

"Hello guys, having fun?"

"Verily Mark!" chorused Hector and Eliwood.

"Uh-huh. And you Lyn?"

"I'm okay Mark," she said tiredly. "Just happy that you're back."

"Well, it's almost time for dinner so let's go."

So they all headed towards the dining area. There they all sat down when Mark noticed an indigo head rushed by him. Indigo?...INDIGO?!...

She apparently saw him too, and mouthed to him something that he didn't understand. Lyn also saw this too but didn't say anything.

After the food was out, the innkeeper stood up to speak to everyone.

"Welcome all to this inn. Before we join in this wonderful meal, will someone say grace? How about you Indigo?"

"Yes father. Fur and feathers, tooth and claw, all who come by our door. Silver fish your life we take, only for a meal to make. Amen."

"Amen," everyone chorused but looked up at her halfway through grace.

"Fish isn't even the main course tonight," Hector muttered as Indigo headed towards their table.

"Yes, but I do love Redwall," she said while sitting down next to Mark. "So Mark, why didn't you say you were staying here?"

"Well, it never came up. Anyway, guys, this is Indigo. We met when I was examining a rather suspicious statue with suspicious runes."

"Suspici-" Indigo started.

"Really Mark?" Lyn interjected. "Were they the same ones?"

"Yes Lyn!" Mark exclaimed and spoke to the rest of the lords just like he always did, all tension forgotten. Indigo looked wistfully at them.

That night while they were all heading to bed, Indigo thought that she would head Mark off, just to chat with him. She was just around the hallway and about to turn the corner when she heard Lyn and Mark.

"Thanks for doing this."

"No problem Mark. Like we said before, what are friends for?"

"I'm still grateful."

Indigo nervously peered around the corner to see Lyn giving Mark a kiss. Indigo blushed and sank to the ground. She quickly got up and hurried back to her room.

The next morning, Mark was up and about inside the inn. He waited until everyone was up before telling them about their assignments for the day.

"Okay troops, we've been working hard and this place is really fun, I'll admit that. But unfortunately, we still have work to do so I'm going to give out your assignments."

There was a collective groan that echoed through the building and into the town. Mark waited patiently and held up his hand for them to stop.

"Today I'll be spending time at the library looking up some interesting runes. Your assignments are all the same for the day."

This was it. The one day of fun and games and they have work. Why is Mark so mean?

"You get to enjoy the day and do whatever you wish."

The room was silent for a minute, letting all of it sink in, before jumping around and screaming. Mark held up his hand again and waited for them to calm down again but they didn't so he yelled at them.

"Everybody SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP! Like I was saying before you guys interrupted me."

"Whadda ya mean interrupted you? You took a pause."

"Whoever said that can come on up and I'll give you a real assignment."

Crickets can be heard in the background. Mark sent a glare to the window and there was suddenly perfect silence.

"Good, now all of you boys and girls can have a good day and don't do anything stupid while the grownup, me, does work. Don't do stupid things, like say…setting fire to some buildings or flirting with girls and causing them to give us trouble. Other than that, enjoy. Everybody understand? Good. Now HAUL OUT!"

There was one final cheer before everybody rushed out the door. Mark sighed and shook his head before looking upward towards the ceiling before chuckling. He then jumped off the box he was standing on to make himself taller and walked out the door and made his way to the library.

Peering at the vast amount of tomes around him, Mark gave a sigh before looking through the endless rows of books. Several members were there too, as some enjoy their day by having a good book to read. Pent wasn't here though. He was spending the day with Louise. Mark didn't want to ask any of the others because it was their day and so they should enjoy it.

Around lunch time, Mark stopped his looking. He was getting little progress. There were simply too many books and not enough clues to find the right one. The statues were mysteries themselves. Apparently, City Hall decided to keep them because they looked cool and added to the scenery. He decided to stop and regroup before attempting to tackle the books again.

"Hey Mark. How's it going?" a voice whispered behind him.

Mark jumped and looked around to see Lyn standing behind him with a cheerful smile. Mark smirked and told her about his trek through the library…only to find her asleep halfway through his recollection.

Lyn woke up again and, before Mark could get steamed, told him of her real reason for coming to the library.

"What, it wasn't to visit me?"

"Kinda. Oh come on Mark. Don't try that sad puppy dog look…Okay, okay, I really did come to visit you. Happy?"

"Maybe…"

"Fine then! Don't come along to the picnic."

"Hold on! Wait Lyn. What are you talking about?"

"Well," she began with a blush, "I sorta made a picnic for the two of us."

"Just us?"

"Yeah. Got a problem with that? If you don't want to come, then don't."

Mark looked at Lyn for a moment before smiling. "I'd love to come."

Then it was Lyn's turn to look at him, only strangely this time.

"Don't worry about the rest of the troops. Despite my actions towards them, I believe that they are very capable of taking care of themselves."

"Okay! Let's go then!"

So Mark and Lyn left together to have their picnic. They chose a grassy field where there was plenty of sun that kept them warm, but also with lots of shade to keep them cool. Lyn brought along a basket that had all of the food in it along with a traditional checkerboard style picnic blanket and any other picnic necessities.

They set up the picnic which was filled with everything. They had sandwiches, lemonade, roasted chicken, cookies, gelatin, fruit, salads, and a whole variety of foods. They sat down and chat while they ate. They talked about everyday things and joked around. It was a good time and everything felt right in the world. It was like all of the darkness they were chasing gave up and went home and all of the mysteries around them just evaporated like the mist that dispersed with the coming of noon.

They ate their lunch and reclined under a shady tree to rest after they cleaned up their trash. They made quiet conversation, often just talking about nonsense like what the clouds passing over them looked like.

Eventually they nodded off. Lyn woke up feeling a weight on her lap.

'_Huh? Mark's asleep on my lap? Oh well, it still feels right.'_

_'Man girl, you've got it bad.'_

_'Who are you supposed to be?'_

_'You.'_

_'Oh, well can you please leave. I'm kinda having a moment here.'_

_'Sure, no problem. I'll just pick my self up and leave. ARE YOU KIDDING? HOW AM I SUPPOSE TO LEAVE?!'_

_'Fine, just stop messing up my moment with Mark.'_

So Lyn just stayed there, silently stroking Mark's hair. '_His face looks so young and innocent when he's asleep_' she mused.

Soon, Mark woke up as well. He was slightly embarrassed for falling asleep on her, but he passed it off and they walked back to the library together.

"Well Lyn, that was a great picnic, but I need to get back to work. So I guess that this would be 'See ya later'."

"Or…I can stay with you and help you with whatever you are looking up."

"If you want, but it's really boring."

"Why not? I've got nothing better to do."

"I'm sure you've got something, but I won't turn down help."

It took them several hours to get to the right book, but they found something very interesting. An ancient passage was written in a book detailing something about a king worshipped along with many gods and goddesses represented with animal figures.

They took it back to the inn where they spoke with their friends about the new find.

"So, does this give us a new clue on where to go next?"

"It does Hector. This should lead us to the next clue."

"And how did you figure that?"

"…Haven't you been paying attention? I said that the same runes were on the statues as the ones on the gateway, which had my signature on it."

"Oohh, rrright. I forgot."

"Anyway, Mark, get to the point."

"Fine, the first part of this seems to be a poem-"

"Why does it always have to be a poem?"

"Quit interrupting. Like I was saying. The poem goes:

_A giant figure carved in stone_

_Awaiting for my rightful throne_

_Who am I?_

_A lonely vigil I guard the gate_

_Five thousand years and still I wait_

_What am I?_

_Eye, beak, eye in the same_

_Shall let you continue in this game_

"The rest just talks about what scholars think that the poem means."

"Can the document be trusted?"

"I think so. It was also found on the walls of a cave 26 kilometers away from the statues."

"…Alright Mark. I'll trust you and Lyn. Seeing as how we don't have anything else on this. We'll start out first thing tomorrow."

"Good. In the interim, I'll update everyone."

Mark left to make an announcement to the troops. Lyn was left back at the table with Hector and Eliwood. Indigo was finished with her rounds so she came by to talk to them.

"Hey guys, whatcha talking about?"

"Hello Indigo. We're just talking about our day. How was yours?"

"It was okay. Same ol' same ol', ya know?"

"Well Mark gave us the day off so we enjoyed ourselves. Anything unusual about your day Lyn?"

"Hmm? Nothing much. I just went out for a picnic with Mark," she said nonchalantly like it happen everyday.

Everyone at her table froze. Mark was not one to shirk his studies. Especially for a picnic. He usually brought along some sandwiches or something and mull over what he read during his break.

"What? Is everyone okay?"

"I am, Lyn," said Indigo who didn't know about Mark all that much. "I am a bit jealous at you."

"How come?"

"Well," she said with a blush, "I think I kinda have a crush on Mark."

Hector snapped out of his shock to hear this. "Wow, that was blunt."

"Hector!" Lyn reprimanded.

She turned back to Indigo but before she can say anything, Indigo continued. "But I know that it'll never work out. We're too different. I think that Lyn would be a better mistress for him than I would," she looks towards Lyn, "Take care of him for me would cha?"

Lyn processed all of this quickly, "Sure," she said with a smile.

"Whoo! I'm glad I've got that off of my chest," she sighed getting up to stretch. "Well, I've got to go, see ya tomorrow." She flashed them all a grin and rushed off.

Lyn and the others continued talking into the night and everyone slept peacefully. Tomorrow, hopefully, they'll be able to continue. There was just one thing that was occupying Lyn's mind. _Was she forgetting something important?_

The next day was bright and sunny. Warm and good feelings all around. Everyone woke up to a good breakfast and was rearing to go and figure out the poem. Mark had updated them on everything and some had an inkling of where to go.

As soon as everyone was ready, everyone jumped up and rushed out the door. Mark just calmly walked to where he wherever he was planning. The lords decided that Mark was probably right, followed him and several others also followed them.

Mark stopped in front of the giant statue of the half-nude man and sat down cross-legged. Everyone sat down as well, waiting for Mark to continue. After a while, no one else found a way to open the statues, and came back to where Mark was at and sat down as well. Eventually, everyone was there and Mark still hadn't moved a muscle. Lyn finally got fed up and walked over to him.

"Okay Mark, how much longer are we going to have to wait? Mark?"

Lyn went around him and took a look at his face. She sweat dropped and screamed, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING ASLEEP?!"

Mark promptly woke up and shouted, "WHERE'S THE FIRE? I'LL GET IT!"

Mark looked around and noticed that everyone was there. "Oh goody, everyone's here. Now I can continue." He stood up and walked over to the statue and started to climb up it.

He reached over the ledge, which was the shoulder that he was standing on, to reach the face of the statue.

"Careful Mark!" Lyn shouted from the ground.

Mark ignored her and reached over and touched the eye of the statue, then his nose, but when he touched the last eye, he slipped and fell towards the ground.

"Don't worry Lyn, I've got him," Hector said as he rushed forward.

He managed to safely catch Mark and set him down on the ground. Lyn promptly rushed over to him and slapped him.

"You idiot. Why did you do that? You could have had someone else who has a flying mount to do it. Or at least someone who's more physically fit."

"Lyn, a flying mount takes up more room than available and I wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Now come on, an entrance should be here somewhere."

No sooner than he said that, the statue moved backward to reveal a staircase going straight down.

"Looks dark," Hector muttered worriedly.

"Don't worry," Mark reassured him. "Florina will be down there to help you out, you big baby."

Florina stammered, while Hector raged at Mark.

"Come back here you pipsqueak!" Hector screamed, chasing Mark around.

"Try and catch me first, you large lump of lard," Mark shouted behind him and headed down into the stairs.

"You are so dead when you tire out," Hector screamed and lunged after him.

Everybody sweat dropped and followed them into the dark tunnel.

It started as a single passage way. Everything was dark and damp, but there were torches that lit the way. The tunnel was obviously not used a lot, but why are the torches lit then?

They reached their first intersection and found Hector strangling Mark who looked bored saying 'Ouch, ouch,' monotonously.

After separating them, Mark looked to Lyn.

"What?"

"Well, do you job Lyn."

"What job?"

"You can see dungeons with the ring."

"Oh. Okay…We go through several confusing tunnels and should end up at a room with a strange symbol. I don't know what it is."

While Lyn still had her eyes closed, Mark put one hand on her shoulder and concentrated.

"The symbol," he said, "Is a warp point. It's an ancient type of magic that allows users to go from one place to the next."

So they headed towards the area. Lyn and Mark calmly walked in front. They didn't set off any traps whatsoever. The same couldn't be said for the rest of the troops. There were spiked pitfall traps, ones that shot arrows at them, ones that shot javelins at them, goo traps that stopped them for a while, ceilings falling on them, and Hector had a pie in the face.

Lyn and Mark just walked through all of them, not batting one eyelash. Eventually, they came before the door that had the symbol. Mark looked back and everyone and jumped backwards.

"Whoa, what happened to you guys?"

Everyone was battered but not too wounded for the ware. "I don't really want to know. Let's just go through this door, beat up whatever we come across and move on."

Lyn, Eliwood, and Hector went forth first, then Mark followed them, but as soon as he walked through, the door slammed shut.

All of them looked back at the door. The door faded away, engulfing them in total darkness. Then the darkness went away as they looked down. The symbol was right below them and was activating.

They were transported to another dark room. Lyn's eyes widen. For some reason, she remembered the faded images of when her tribe was attacked. She broke out of it as she heard a gasp and a groan around her.

She saw Eliwood and Hector take a step back, but what really concerned her was that Mark collapsed on the ground. She quickly rushed to him. He was curled up on the ground, shivering and whimpering.

"This is all your fault you know," a voice hidden by the shadows told them. "You are seeing your fears and despair. But they pale in comparison to what Mark has witness."

Lyn felt the speaker's eyes fall on her. "You are not as affected thanks to the effects of the ring. It shields its wearer's mind against all intrusion. But Mark is suffering. You know what you'll do."

Lyn, without thinking, ripped off the ring and placed it on Mark's hand. It glowed faintly before fading. The memories were drilling into her head but she kept looking at Mark, hoping that he'll wake up. The ring shined again and the darkness seemed to be pulled into the ring, along with their feelings and memories.

With their heads clearing, they looked around them to see a well furnished room. A figure in a brown cloak stepped towards them. His cloak was the same style as Mark's, only brown instead of green.

He looked down at Mark and looked back up to them.

"Thank you," he said in a clear voice.

Just one word was all she needed. The person in front of her, was the same person she saw talking to Tamara, Tarin, and Mark when he was still under their spell.

He leaned down and picked Mark up, with his arms supporting Mark's neck and the back of his knees.

Lyn lunged forward with her sword ready to lop off his head. He moved quicker than she expected and jumped backwards. The action caused his hood to fall down and Lyn and the others looked in shock.

His eyes, his hair, everything about him was the same. He was like an exact duplicate of Mark.

**Wow. Just think of all the plot twists. I happen to think they're funny. So Mark has a clone. Or is Mark the clone? That sounded like a cheesy drama show. Anyway, the warp point works the same way as the gate. You need two of them to work and they work in reverse as well. **

**Anyway, here's a clue for you. "What does Aniki-san mean?" For those who know Japanese, please correct me if I'm wrong. I don't want to say anything but I'm pretty sure that's the word I'm looking for.**


	18. Chapter 16: Kioku

**This update was a little later than planned but I have a good excuse for it. It wasn't writter's block because most of the story is planned out inside my head anyway. I have other things I have to take care of. Next week's the AP Exam. Joyous. Anyway, this chapter is hot off the press so I didn't have time to check over it like usual. I you noticed anything (i.e. any grammatical grammar, plot holes, things my subconsciousness may have put in) please notify me. It's probably not as good as some of the other chapters. **

**On to more exciting business, who knows why I named the title like this? Take your best shot. This chapter served more of a transitional story as well. It tells of what happened before the actual story takes place. Some things might be out of characters, but bear with me and tell me about it please.**

Chapter 16: Kioku

Staring into the golden eyes reminded Lyn of looking into Mark's eyes; holding so much wisdom and kindness along with troubling clouds that show his experience. Stranger was that it fit onto his face the same way that Mark's does. The way that he looks at them was the same as Mark. Confident but humble.

He continued to stare back at them with his unwavering stare; unblinking in his determination. Lyn took one step forward and he didn't move. Lyn knew what this was. He knew that she was still too far to be a threat, but only _just_ too far. Any nearer and she would immediately pose a threat, especially with her swords. She took another step and he tensed. Right now, he was holding all of the cards. Even if she can reach him, he still has Mark and can send Mark to the next world before she can get within two feet of him.

"Who are you?" Lyn asked first to try and negotiate. Even Hector can realize the delicate situation and decided to hold back until the time calls for it.

He was still holding Mark but he looked directly into her eyes, his own as if they were boring into her soul. "I am one who understands more than you'll ever hope to know. I see no point in introducing myself to you. You have already seen me." He glanced over to Lyn and took a pause. "However, since you have asked so politely and Mark deems you interesting enough to be his acquaintance, I shall answer."

He looked at all of them in the eye again. "I am Mark's brother. My name is something that cannot be translated in your language." He took a breath and opened his mouth. It was a sound nearly indescribable. It sounded like a mixture of all the sounds of the world mixed together. "Therefore, I have chosen to take on another name just as Mark had. I am Marius."

He didn't just look like Mark, now he sounded like him too, in everything including the name. "When someone introduced themselves, the only polite thing to do would be to introduce yourself." He said impatiently. Kinda like Mark.

"I am Eliwood of Pherae. These are my companions Hector of Ostia, and Lyn-"

"Mark's Destined Lover!" Hector shouted.

"HECTOR!" Lyn shouted and bashed him over the head with her sword.

"Such an unruly bunch. I see no reason why Mark kept around riffraff such as the likes of you."

"Because we're friends. Our bond gets us through anything," Lyn said angrily at Marius.

"Friends? You honestly believe that Mark considered you as friends? You fools. Mark has been helping us since the beginning, to try and stop all of you." He turned to Lyn. "Think back Ms. Lyn. Remember when you first used the ring to find where we had 'supposedly' taken Mark? Remember how you saw everything so clearly? That was all planned."

"How-"

"Let's go back to the beginning, the point where Mark got hit with an arrow. Naturally, you thought that he had died. That attack nearly killed him. We got him back in time and the one who shot the arrow was justly punished. Then we found out that you had gotten his possessions including the two things that were needed for our plans to be complete. Over the next three months or so, we searched through his mind's surface. What we found were obviously blatant lies planted by you. Clever lies nonetheless.

"That was when we decided that Mark's memories of you should be suppressed. We wouldn't, and couldn't, remove them completely. That might cause Mark harm mentally and physically. His barriers were weakened without the ring, but they put up a strong fight anyway. After wiping his mind blank, we waited for his true self to come. He never surfaced. We figured that something was missing."

"That is where I come in," a voice came from behind Marius. An aged man materialized behind him. He was beyond old, he was ancient. A long white beard reaching past his waist made it so that every time he spoke, it billowed like clouds. His hair was thinning in the front, but it was pulled back to form a long ponytail behind him reaching to the floor. Around his head was a sliver and gold circlet. He was dressed in blue robes matching his eyes. In his right hand was a staff with intricate designs carved onto it. The article that stood out to Lyn the most was that on his right index finger was the same ring that she saw on Mark's hand.

"Which are you this time? Methuselah?" Marius asked curiously.

"No, I'm Mimir. Methuselah and Memoria are asleep right now." He said gently.

"Ah…I see. Allow me to introduce you." Marius turned his head to face the lords more directly. "This is Mimir, the Wise, he is a spirit that inhabits the vessel you see before you. Methuselah, the Experienced, and Memoria the Memory are two other spirits that exists within him."

"Yes, now that the introductions are out of the way, I believe that you have Mark, yes?"

"Yes, he's right here. Sleeping like he used to."

"I see, well, I'll explain from here. You take him back to Tarin and Tamara. No doubt that they'll give you an earful for, as they put it, 'hogging' Mark." Mimir said with a small chuckle.

"Of course, we'll take our leave." Marius bowed slightly and started to fade away. By the time Lyn realized this and moved forward, he was already gone. She looked back up to Mimir.

"Okay buddy, start talking. Where has that Mark-look-alike-who-really-isn't-Mark taken Mark?"

"Please calm down Ms. Lyn. I assure you that Mark is not taken somewhere to be tortured. I do have a question though, have you sensed any abnormality in yourself lately?"

"Why would I tell you?"

"No reason. But I do sincerely wish to know. It would be a benefit to see if others suffer from the same symptoms of these particular rings."

"The ring?"

"Indeed. As you have heard the conversation, I am but one spirit, or rather mind, inside of this body. From what I can tell, usage of the ring will eventually cause a person's mind to become unstable and the mind will naturally preserve itself by creating new minds to hold all of the information. Have you had conversations with yourself lately?"

"Lately…" Lyn trailed off. She did recall the most recent one. She was with Mark at the picnic. Didn't she start talking to herself? She looked up sharply at him.

Again he chuckled. "I see, so you have experienced it."

"What is he talking about Lyn?" Eliwood asked, concerned for the health of his friend.

"Nothing Eliwood. Anyway, back to the subject, where is Mark?" Lyn asked, the last part being especially vehement.

Eliwood and Hector noticed Lyn advancing forward and moved forward as well to back her up.

"I really don't want to fight you," Mimir told them. It was more of a command than a suggestion. Lyn didn't listen and continued to move forward.

"You would gang up on an unwilling man? For shame!"

All heads were turned towards the ceiling where the voice was coming from.

"Uh, I'm right here," Marius' voice came again. All heads now came back down to see him standing in front of Mimir. "Sorry, I guess the architectural structure of this room must make my voice echo."

"What are you doing here?" Mimir asked him. He just turned backwards and placed something in Mimir's hand.

"You were taking too long so I was getting worried. Don't worry, this will take you back so you can rest. I deal with things here."

"Wait-" Mimir stared but he was surrounded by a glowing circle with inscribed runes and disappeared.

"Now you will deal with me!" Marius yelled as he pulled out his sword.

They all spent a moment looking at it. It was fairly old, though kept in good condition. Still, it had nicks all over the sword's blade.

Hector struggled for a minute before guffawing. "You want to fight us using that blade. Come on, if you use that kind of sword to train with, at least let us give you a proper sword."

"I have no need for another sword! Ready yourselves!"

He rushed at them with astounding speed. Eliwood barely had time to bring up his sword to block before the familiar clang of metal sounded in his ears. But Marius, instead of locking swords with him, quickly pulled away and sent another slice from another direction.

Luckily Hector was close enough to parry the attack, but Marius kept pushing back with the sword and pushed Hector to the wall with the point nearing his neck. Eliwood and Lyn rushed him and he flipped over them backwards, landing in a perfect rushing stance.

Hector looked up for a moment before grinning like a maniac. "Okay Lyn, now we know that he's lying." They all looked back at him, urging him to continue because Hector often pauses to add drama only he does it in the worst possible moment. "Look, this guy is really, REALLY good, right?" Everyone, even Marius, nodded. "Mark sucks at fighting. Therefore, because of the vast differences, they cannot be related," he finished with a satisfied smirk and his nose in the air. Everyone just gave him an exasperated look.

Lyn was the one to reprimand him with a smack on the head. "HECTOR! That was one fact and how does not being able to fight not relates them?

"Ms. Lyndis of Sacae is quite correct in her assumption that fighting traits are not inherited, but she is quite wrong about Mark's inadequacy in the art."

"Wait, wait, wait. Are we even talking about the same person anymore?"

"You shall not talk down on Mark any longer, Hector of Ostia!" Again he rushed at them and attacked. The same routine of him attacking slowly fell into place. His weapon was strong, they'll admit that much. He already shattered Eliwood's rapier and Lyn's silver sword was now without a blade. His own tattered looking sword was still holding up strong and each blow delivered was just as strong as the last. Still, all of the movements were wearing him down slowly.

"Will you give up now? I'll give you one last chance to escape with your lives to see our true purposes," he managed to pant out.

"Ha- not a chance. Ha- you're already tiring out. Just a little more and you'll be gone and we'll take Mark back," Lyn also panted out. They were just as tired as he was but that was considering that it was three on one. All the same, if any of them was to tire out first, the most likely one would be him.

Luckily for him he was smart enough to know this and not rush into things without thinking it through. He glanced around at the bare room. They were probably more than thirty five feet underground and the soil around the area was loose. It wouldn't cause too much of an impact but if used correctly…

"So I see that you will not surrender. I have no choice then, good bye!" He shouted as he took his sword and stabbed the point into the ground. A glowing circle with intricate designs on it appeared with the center on the tip of the sword for a short second. "GROUND DASHER!"

As soon as he said it, the entire room started to shake and true to its words, the spell caused the ground to split open and they all fell into the waiting darkness.

As they were falling though, Marius took out a small piece of paper and threw it below him. As it was flying back up, he took his sword and stabbed it causing writing to appear on it. "SEE YA!" He yelled as a light engulfed him and he disappeared. The teleportation that he did must have had an energy backlash because it caused a strong updraft to slow their fall.

They still landed pretty hard and Hector complained about his sore bum.

"ARGGG! SHUT UP HECTOR! NO ONE WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR BUM!!!" Screamed Lyn as she was reaching the end of sanity through the whirlwind of events.

"Calm down, both of you," the voice of reason, Eliwood, muttered, obviously tired of their antics. "The best thing we can do right now is to look for a way out. We don't know where we are or if we're even in the same areas as our camp. The best bet we have is to make it back to the room with the symbol and have it teleport us back to the other symbol where the camp should be waiting. Lyn can you see anything?"

He looked up to see that Hector and Lyn were already walking off without him, and making small conversation. He sweat-dropped but he hurried to catch up to them.

"Nice of you to finally notice Eliwood," Lyn said coldly. "Beside, have you noticed that I no longer have the ring?!" She emphasized her point by lifting up her hand to show that it was bare.

"Oh…err…right…anyway…any good ideas?" He finished weakly.

"None whatsoever, you Hector?"

"Nope…wait! Why not use Mark's book? You still have it, right Eliwood?"

"Yes, it's right here," he said while pulling the book out. "What page should I open it to?" Shrugs from his two companions caused him to sigh. He opened the book to the first page that said, **"Should you have any problems, just stand the book on its spine and let it fall…Then hope to whatever divine being up there likes you and helps you out. Hopefully that was useful to you in a dark situation…if not…then too bad."**

"Oookay…let's not get too excited people," Hector said slowly.

Eliwood took a breath and placed the book on its spine. It slowly fell to the sides showing them a page with minute writing. It said:

**Aliens in our Worlds**

**Aliens and Michelangelo: Who really painted the Sistine Chapel**

**Aliens and the Egyptians: Wonders of the Great Pyramids**

**Aliens and the Mayans: Are they Aliens; Thoughts on Dooms Day**

**Let's go Bowling with Aliens: Arte of Cabbages**

They stared at the page for a moment before Eliwood looked up at his friends. "WHAT WAS THAT?!" He screamed. He is really starting to lose it. With Mark's weirdness and his friends' weirdness and the world's weirdness, he's becoming weird. How ironic…

Anyway, they all let out a sigh and amazingly, their breath caused the pages to turn. It opened up once again on another page that said, **MAP TO HAUL OUT OF THE CATACOMBS OF ARCADIA V. 2.8**.

They stared at the book in shock, wonder, and a whole fury of emotions. "Well, that was convenient," muttered Lyn, looking at the book angrily.

After a really long and boring and very, very, very disturbing trek through the darkness, they finally found the half demolished room with the seal.

"HEY!" Hector yelled. "You can see where we fell in from."

Lyn promptly grabbed his collar and stopped him. "Oh no you don't. You are not going near there and falling into it again…While we're on the subject of the tunnels, which on of you grabbed my rear?"

"That was you're rear?" Hector pondered out loud. "No wonder that rock was so soft…I MEAN…!"

Lyn ran towards him and tackled him. This unfortunately caused both of them to fall into the hole again.

Eliwood pinched the bridge of his nose. He had two options: to go and help his friends or go back to the army, lie to them about Lyn and Hector's unfortunate demise and live his life like he was supposed to. Hmm…decisions decisions… Well, being the morally correct and loyal friend that he is, he decided to jump in after Lyn and Hector and bail their sorry butts out. And so, the same trek was done again.

"Okay, this time, let's not fall in again, please?" Eliwood asked hopefully.

"No problem, Eliwood old buddy!" Hector replied eagerly. "HEY! Close to the place we fell in is a fallen wall. I think I see something near there."

Lyn again grabbed his collar and handed him over to Eliwood while she went cautiously over to where Hector had indicated to find a small chest. Inside was an old scroll of some sort. "Well, I've got the scroll, so can we please get out of here. We aren't getting any closer to finding Mark!"

"Fine, fine, touchy. Let's go Eliwood."

"Right."

They all stood on the seal and it took them back to the dark room which promptly booted them out.

"OW!" complained Hector. "How does that door boot us out? Does it have any feet to wear boots?"

"Shut up Hector."

The three lords looked up to see their companions worried. "Rest assured that we are safe and well," proclaimed Hector in a heroic pose.

"Okay, but aren't we going in? And where's Mark?" Nils asked.

"What are you talking about? We've been gone for a while."

"Lyn is right, Hector get out of that pose. Both of them fell into the hole again so it took quite a while for us to get out."

"No," Guy said looking at them. "You went in, the door slammed shut for about two seconds, and then it tossed you guys out if what I'm hearing is correct."

The lords looked at each other and back at the army. Lyn breathed a sigh before muttering, "Let's get out of here. We can regroup and discuss what we'll do next at the inn."

There were affirmative nods everywhere and they headed back to the inn.

True enough when they emerged; it wasn't even noon yet. They headed back to the inn in silence. Everyone saw the disappointed look on their lords' faces.

Once inside, the lords explained everything to standard debriefing format. The response was predictable. It was silent for a second so everyone can absorb what just happened. Then everyone will simultaneously start screaming and going berserk.

"Okay everyone, calm down, calm down. I'm sure that Mark can take care of himself. We don't really believe that Mark was with the enemy." He looked to Hector and Lyn who nodded at once. "We can look back to our memories and see if he has done anything stranger, or stranger than normal Mark. We start with the beginning which would be with Lyn finding Mark."

"But what if one of us has heard of Mark before then?" Matthew asked.

"Oh…err…well…"

Lyn stood up to address the army. "Fine then. We'll do this instead." She started to hand out parchment and writing utensils to everyone before heading back to explain the plan. "We all write down what we remember about Mark. Try to keep it in chronological order people. Group together and get started."

"YES MA'AM!!!" The army chorused.

It took several hours before everyone was finished. They all gave their sheets to their lords and walked off to find something more interesting to do. Nils went to play with the local children; they understood him somewhat because some of them were also dragons. Ninian stayed back, she wanted to be with Eliwood.

Composing the timeline was Ninian's idea. She suggested that they take the information they have to make a timeline to show where and when Mark started changing. It didn't take too much time because they mostly knew all of what happened.

"So Lyn found him unconscious on the plains and took him in to treat him."

"Did you undress him?"

"Yes Hector, I imagine that I would have to in order to tend to his wounds. They weren't deep but I saw some deep scars that must have been inflicted on him earlier in life."

"Right, I know that you looked at him and not only from the back."

"SHUT UP HECTOR!" screamed Lyn but she didn't deny it.

"Anyway, that marked the beginning of Lyndis' Legions."

"We traveled together for a couple of days until we came to Bulgar where we met Kent and Sain and learned that my great uncle was out for my blood."

"AND MARK GOT A DONKEY!"

"What was that for Hector?"

"I don't know, but I've heard from some of the members of the former Lyndis' Legions that Mark rode around, 'not on a noble steed of his stature', but a small donkey."

"It's true. Apparently, since he's so short as he puts it, the donkey was more fitting of his stature anyway."

"Uh-huh. Around that time, me and Eliwood were in the area."

"That's right. And it's supposed to be 'Eliwood and I'."

"Whatever, if I remember correctly, Matthew was sent to a house I was staying at while waiting for Eliwood. Then Serra showed up and I had to hide."

"This is confirmed by their respective documents. Strange though that he would send the two people who have connections to you, no?"

"Yes, Eliwood, yes. Not no."

"Shut up Hector."

"We met up with Nils and he helped us get to the castle. We found that Ninian was taken somewhere else and was planning to give chase when we found that Eliwood had already helped her." At this Eliwood and Ninian looked lovingly into each other's eyes.

"When my ring was missing, you asked Mark to help find it, right Ms. Lyn?"

"Yep, and he didn't even hesitate when he answered. Somehow, I get the feeling that he knew I was going to ask that, or that he knew that we would be heading there. But I really think that he knew more than he let on and would have suggested we go there if I hadn't asked first."

"Interesting, interesting…"

"Anyway, then he helped you overthrow your Uncle 'Luggy' right?"

"Yes, he helped us and he was there when I struck him down. I was with my grandfather afterwards. I thought that Florina might have summoned the doctor."

"Come on Lyn," scoffed Hector. "I don't mean any disrespect to Florina, but doctors are usually guys and you know how she is."

Lyn gave a wry smile. "I know, I wasn't thinking at the time. Anyway, Mark sent for him and the doctor didn't mention anything about payment afterwards."

"Well, your grandfather was the Marquess of Caelin and you are the heir to the throne. He probably also disliked your uncle. I've heard rumors of the pains of the peasantry when I was visiting."

"You're right Eliwood, but I think that Mark paid out of his own money…"

"Mark is like that Lyn. He doesn't seem to think too much on money."

"Yeah…until we came along into the picture anyway."

"What are you talking about Hector?"

"Well, let's continue with the timeline first. It might muddle the entire thing."

"Wow! That was probably the smartest thing you've ever said."

"SHUT UP!"

"Anyway, then he disappeared for a while. At the victory feast, he just upped and left."

"What? No words of good byes or kisses?"

"NO HECTOR! He just slipped out the back door. I managed to corner him on the hill nearby. We did exchange some short good byes, but we promised to see each other again."

"Aw… how utterly romantic and sappy."

"HECTOR!"

"Anyway, he left and wandered around for a while. We know that much because there were sightings of him as far a Bern and maybe even as far as Ilia."

"How far can that kid go?!"

"He's not a kid."

"You would say that Lyn."

"So he wandered around doing whatever it is that Marks do and amazingly ended up in a village near where Eliwood was just starting out to find his dad."

"Rebecca was also brought along by Lowen. When we met, I was surprised to see Mark there. I thought that would go a bit further than Pherae to study but apparently he did. He looked at me kindly and smiled. I asked him for help and he gave it and tagged along for the rest of the journey."

"And then he met me. Though looking back I can't say that he met me from that moment. He knew me too well to retort back to me with replies that just make me look stupider and stupider."

"Well he doesn't need to work hard."

"Shut it. So with that, we headed off and met up with Lyn here."

"I wasn't expecting to see him so soon again, but it was nice anyway."

"Dream about him often?"

"More than you know."

Hector pulled Eliwood and Ninian aside for a bit and whispered, "Did she just say what I think she said?"

"Then we continued on the journey. Meeting up with Ninian and Nils again." At this Ninian and Eliwood looked at each other again.

"Ah yes, and once we found out about Nergal's plot Mark began working overtime to ensure us victory every time no matter how bleak the situation."

"Yep, he had us ration everything from food to weapons to even underwear."

"No… he didn't."

"Yes… he did Lyn."

"No he didn't Hector. That was just your excuse because you were too lazy to change your underwear." At this, Lyn began edging away from Hector.

"Either way, we met up with Athos afterwards."

"Mark didn't seem too surprise to see Athos either. I think he stayed behind a little bit longer to talk with him."

"I know what he was talking about. Athos gave him something called Afa Drops and he got me to drink them."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. I felt my mind opening and more connected with the world."

"Cool…I think."

"Anyway, we went and got Durandal, and met up with Roland. Mark didn't seem very surprise. Why? I'm sure that he sees dead people all the time."

"Quit being sarcastic. But you are right. Afterwards when we went outside, Eliwood killed Ninian with the sword. Sorry about that you two."

"Don't worry about, it's in the past."

"Mark didn't seem fazed at all when that happened nor when Nergal explained it. It was like he knew she was going to be attacked and knew that he couldn't do anything to stop it."

"Yeah, and when Athos got pissed and began to attack, Mark didn't look worry when Nergal was unaffected."

"He got us through some really tough times after that though. I was sure on some occasion that I heard him reassuring me that it wasn't as much of my fault as I think it was."

"And it wasn't Eliwood. I've told you that I don't hold anything against you."

"Anyway, afterwards, we saw Brammimond. Mark didn't speak with him and stood a far distance away from him."

Lyn's eyes suddenly widen. "'For every person in the world, there is a different Brammimond'. Remember what Athos said? That guy, Mimir, he said that the ring splits your personality. What would happen if two people with multiple personalities were to meet up when their personality depended on the one they are addressing? Neither would start because they would be waiting for the other and both would be having an identity crisis."

"Wow Lyn, slow down, take a breath."

Her eyes widened again. "He wasn't surprised by any of that, he led us into the deepest part of enemy territory without a single worry, fully trusting on himself and our abilities, and defeating the Morphs, Nergal, and the Fire Dragon. It was as if he knew exactly how each battle was going to turn out."

"After the battle, we went home. Nils went back to the other side of the gate."

Ninian spoke up. "From what he told me, Mark was a frequent visitor of the gate. He found a way to send letters to Nils but Nils was unable to do so. Then one day, he heard Mark's voice calling him to the gate asking if he wants to come back and see everyone again and go on another adventure-"

The door creaked open. Violet entered. "Hi!" she shouted clearly hyper. "So where's Mark?"

The lords got a dark look on them and Lyn mumbled, "His alleged brother, Marius, took him."

Violet sat down and took a bite out of an apple. "Tsk, I told that his name was supposed to Martin. When will he remember that?"…

**Just how many more surprises am I going to pack in here? Well I honestly don't know because I have the major points planned out but not the minor details that lead up to the main points.**

**I don't know when I'll be able to update again, but it will be sure that it won't be in the next week. It would probably be updated in the first week of the next month if everything goes according to plan, which it won't so it will be around next month, of that I can be sure.**

**Well, tell me if you see anything that you like or dislike or hate or love. Also, if you can give some info on the personality of the characters of the previous Fire Emblem game, it would be most appreciated. Nothing too big or fancy, just who they are, what are they like, stuff like that. Thanks.**

**One last note, I might be changing the title and summary. Just want to let you know incase I do and you find this fic on the search thingy. I don't know what it is going to be yet, but I probably will.**


	19. Chapter 17: Castle in the Sky

**Okay, so it's just about the first week of the sixth month. I haven't gotten any reviews about the last chapter but I know that some people have read it, or at least came to it, so I'm going to have to assume that they didn't see anything contradictory to the rest of the story. Oh well.**

**I might not be able to write as much as I planned because of summer work, but I'll do as much as I can. For now, enjoy.**

Chapter 17: Castle in the Sky

They all looked at Violet who looked back clueless at them. "What?"

"You knew that it was Mark's brother down there and you let us walk into that trap?" Lyn said venomously.

"Huh? H-hold on! It's not like that, I swear."

"I suggest we hear her out before condemning her." Eliwood suggested.

"Fine, you've got five minutes to 'WOW' me."

"Okay I'll tell you what I know. Several months ago, a brown cloaked stranger appeared. He was wandering around aimlessly and had no idea of where he was, or any tongue that we could understand. Instead he went to the library, the one that Mark went to, and studied our language. It took him two weeks and he stayed here during that time.

He learned the entire language fluently in roughly two weeks and two more girls showed up. He taught them and they grasped the language in a week and a half. We were getting to know each other when he said that they needed to continue on their mission which was to search for his brother. To travel the world, they needed names.

The two girls obviously thought of this already and had their names picked out in advance. His name was a lot harder to decide. He kept on disagreeing, wanting to just go out and find his brother. Seeing him this agitated, I suggested something along the lines of 'Mark'. He inquired about who this was and I was forced under pain of death to tell the entire story.

He decided this 'Mark' seems promising and if he wasn't his brother, then perhaps he met him on one of his travels. So he wanted a name that sounded like Mark. I suggested Martin, after the warrior, and he said he'll use it. Whether he remembered it was another story as you've shown me."

"So you knew this all along and you never told us?!"

"How was I supposed to know?!"

"Besides the fact that they looked exactly like each other?!"

"I knew all along but you never gave me a chance to explain! I thought that he already found Mark and they had separate plans!"

"Did you even try to explain?!"

"Yes!"

"When?!"

"When he was mentioning the suspicious runes. I was trying to talk, but you interrupted me and I couldn't a word in edge-wise."

"Yeah?! Well…"

"She does have a point Lyn."

"Fine! I suppose you do have a point. The question still stands as to whether or not we can trust you."

"What are you talking about?"

"If you hadn't noticed, Mark is gone. He was taken by his so called brother. Any ideas why?"

"Uh…not really. Sorry."

"Which leads us back to our original question of what to do next."

"Why not break it down to its simplest form? What were we doing in the beginning of the journey?"

"We were looking for the causes of the outbreaks of shadow creatures that seem to be attacking in no distinct pattern."

"Then we met up with Mark and detoured to find a cure for him before getting looped into a family feud."

"Not much of a feud, he seems to want to find Mark."

"Anyway, we know that the group that captured Mark is connected in some way to the shadow creatures we fought."

"Right, we saw them working in conjunction with each other."

"We find the group, we find Mark. Simple."

"Not quite so simple, Lyn. The next question is whether or not we can trust Mark."

"What are you talking about?! He's our tactician, our friend."

"Yes, but there is always the possibility that he may in fact be an enemy, as much as I would hate for that to happen."

"Either way, we still have to hunt down that group. When the time comes, we can ask him ourselves and decide on what to do. The most, and probably the worst thing, we can do to him would be to no longer consider him as a friend."

"We won't do that. I am sure."

"As am I."

"Count me in."

"I am with you as well my lords."

"Yeah yeah, nice and touching and all, but have you forgotten that you don't have a clue as to where to go next?" Violet mentioned.

The lords looked thoughtful for a moment. "The only new information we would get would be from this old scroll," Lyn said, taking the scroll out of her pack.

"May I look at it? I might be able to supply my assistance." They all looked at Violet. "I think it's funny to imitate Martin…and it would seem that Mark would speak the same way."

Lyn nodded and handed over the scroll to Violet. Her eyes flicked back and forth, skimming the aged parchment. Finally, she looked up at them.

"Did you find out what it said?"

"Nope!" They all did an anime faint.

"I did find out that this was written probably by someone who was a lot like Mark because the writing style doesn't fall into any standard format."

"How would you know if couldn't read it?"

"Intuition. Anyway, to find out what this thing means, I'm going to need some glyphs."

"Uh-huh. And where do we find these glyphs?"

"Not to worry, I recognize the writing style a little. Everyone collects the glyphs in this city. You might have to do a few odd jobs to find some, but it's the most sure fire way to get them."

"Alright, we'll go and gather the troops to find these glyphs."

"And I'll start prepping the room I'll use to translate the scroll."

So the lords went out and informed everyone of what they were to do. Everyone then scattered to find jobs to earn the glyphs. Ninian, Nils, Nino, Rebecca, and surprisingly, Jaffar waited on customers in a café. Lyn, Eliwood, Will, Florina and her sisters, and Heath delivered posts for the city. Hector and Karel and his sister got several glyphs by entering a tournament and turning down the money for the glyphs. Karel was just happy that he could fight. Matthew and Legault however got the most glyphs, though how they got, no one wanted to know.

It took a good part of the day and was close to evening when they returned to the inn. Violet gladly took the glyphs and retreated to her room for analysis. There was nothing they could do except wait for Violet to finish with the translating, though chances are that it was going to be done in the morning by earliest.

"Suppose that Violet can make heads or tails of that scrap, how are we suppose to know if we can trust what it says and what she says?" Hector asked suspiciously.

"A hunch," Lyn replied simply.

"So you're basing all of this on a hunch?"

"Of course not, that 'would be foolhardy' according to Mark. 'Never base what you do on one reason alone.'"

"You-"

"Yes I still believe in him, and if you were a true friend, Eliwood, you would believe in him too."

"I wasn't going to say anything like that," he said calmly, understanding her feelings somewhat. "I was going to say 'You must be at your wits end with all that is going on'."

Lyn looked sheepish. "Well, I suppose that I am tired of what has and what will happen. I just wish it was as simple as when we were fighting Nergal. It was just taking him out of the picture, and everything falls into place."

"Yes, but this situation is hardly like that."

"Yeah, this time, we're dealing with something that thinks on the level of Mark."

"I know that Hector. As much as I'm ashamed to admit it, I want Mark back." She continued before they could start. "I need him not only as a friend, but also as a tactician, a mentor. He always listened to me without making any judgment and said what he thought would be best without holding anything back.

"That was his policy you know." Lyn fell silent though the scene played in her mind.

"_Listen, Lyn. A tactician's job is not always so glamorous. You have to tell others to take lives and use the most underhanded tricks in the world to accomplish victory for your army. But the most painful thing that will happen would be when one of your companions asks you a question or for your opinion."_

"_Why's that?" she asked without thinking before clamping her hands over her mouth._

_Mark just chuckled. "Don't worry. The pain is actually because you have to tell whoever's asking what you think they should do, even if it's painful to them. If you are too close to them, you feel the pain as well. That's also why tacticians can never get too close to his army."_

Lyn shook her head softly to clear it. "I'm heading up to bed now guys." Sounds of people bidding her good night can be heard echoing in the din of the inn.

Lyn collapsed on her bed, totally exhausted from the events of the day. Thoughts of Mark swam around inside her head. He loomed just beyond her reach and whenever she was close enough, he just moved back. She would have thought that he was taunting her if it wasn't for a frown on his face. Before she knew it, it was daybreak, and amazingly, she was refreshed.

She made her way down to the lobby of the inn where most of the army was already prepping for the travel that they were sure to travel to. It was several hours and nearing noon before Violet staggered down the stairs and collapsed in a chair at the lords' table.

"Mission accomplished," she muttered tiredly.

"Don't tell me that you were up all night!"

"Okay, I won't tell _**you**_ then. Can I tell you Hector?"

"Sure, go ahead!"

"I was up all night translating this." She tossed a sheet of paper on the table and sank in her chair. "The hard part was figuring out what it meant and where the map was hidden. I figured out that the glyphs formed a map that will lead you to whatever was written on there. Wake me up when you find the whatever." And with that she fell into a dead faint.

Lyn picked up the paper and read it.

_Castle in the Sky_

_The threat to our lands is deep and dark,_

_Stopping it won't be a walk in the park._

_But you have proven worthy and wise,_

_What a swell bunch of gals and guys._

_But when the pretenders try to take the throne,_

_You won't be able to stop them alone._

_The path to his past goes on for miles,_

_Getting there may take you a while._

_You can't walk or fly there, you'll have to float._

_So get out of here and go South on a boat._

"I repeat, 'Why is it always in a poem?'"

"Not now Hector, we need to decide on what to do. Lyn?"

Lyn looked thoughtful for a moment, but she quickly shook her head to clear up any doubt. "I want to look for Mark and get the full story from him." She had a fierce look of determination in her eyes.

Eliwood and Hector nodded. "Agreed," they chorused.

"Next order of business then, where does this lead us? How can we know to trust this poem?"

"I repeat, 'A hunch'. Besides, if we don't use this, then we've no leads to take us to Mark. She said that it seems like something Mark or someone like him would write."

"Okay, we'll follow it. Let's break it down and figure out what it means. The first line obviously means something bad is going to happen."

"Wow! Did you figure that out by yourself or did someone hand you a cheat sheet?"

"Quit being sarcastic Hector. The next line is a compliment I suppose."

"That would seem appropriate, though the next lines don't make any sense."

"'When the pretenders try to take the throne, you won't be able to stop them alone'…She's right, what does that mean?"

"Well obviously, some people want to take over the throne and we'll need help stopping them."

"Wow Hector, 'Did you figure that out by yourself or did someone hand _you_ a cheat sheet?'"

"Don't mock me. Anyway, the lines afterwards mention something about traveling on 'his path'. Suppose this someone is Mark, how do you travel someone's past?"

"By taking a trip down Memory Lane?"

"This is no time to be cracking jokes."

"Fine, sorry, so we're to find out more about Mark's past."

"That's good…I suppose…I'd rather him tell us, but since he can't remember it himself I suppose that this is the next best thing."

"He wouldn't mind that much. He told me 'If you remember anything about my past, it would be very well appreciated if you could remind me.'"

"The final lines say to take a boat and go south."

"Uh-huh…and what are we supposed to float on? The sand?"

"OF COURSE!!! IT'S SO SIMPLE!" Violet cried out as she woke up with a start. She looked around for a second and turned sheepish. "Sorry. I mean it's utterly and needlessly complicated."

"You have an idea of what we're supposed to do?"

"Yep! The archeologists unearthed a large ship a couple of years ago. It's at the public museum."

"And this relates to our problems how again? We still need a boat that can go over sand."

"You weren't listening were you? This is a ship. Moreover, the historians and several other scientists say that with the right forces, it can fly."

"You are one crazy chick you know that?"

"I'll ignore that comment for now. But still, I bet that that ship is the one that you need."

"Fine, we'll go looking at it and if it seems airworthy, we'll take it out for a spin."

"Enough talk, we head out now!"

So they all went out the museum. It was nice and sunny, the breezes cooled their skin. The museum was also pretty interesting. There were all sorts of oddities that where held there, a giant turtle shell that must have been more than 20 ft. and skeletons of giant beings that they called dinosaurs.

They made their way to where the ship was held. It was very big, sizing to over 200 meters in length and it had more than six floors, not counting the bilge. The main mast towered over them and it was a wonder that the ceiling was extended to fit the ship.

"Man, you can house the entire army in this thing." Whistled Lyn, impressed.

"So, how do we get it out?"

"No problem, I have a plan."

"Since when does Hector have plans?"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that. Let's just go and get supplies for today. We don't know what we'll run into next."

"NOOOOO! Where's the Hector that we know and love?!" cried Lyn.

"Awww…You love me?"

"No, I love Mark, not you."

Again Hector pulled Eliwood aside. "Moving pretty fast those two, don't cha think?"

"Riiiiight…well anyways, let's move along. There's not much we can do here."

The rest of the day was spent shopping. The girls were thrilled, even Lyn. Aside from some of the necessities for battle, they also shopped for some luxury items. There were plenty of dresses that weren't exactly war suited but they were nice looking. Either way, there were funds to spare and most had a very good time. Well, except for some of the guys who were against shopping.

That night, everyone was in bed. Everyone, except the army, who were in front of the museum.

"Okay Hector, what's this ingenious plan of yours?"

"He's right over here!" Hector exclaimed cheekily and pulled Matthew to him in a headlock.

"Wha- Me?"

"Yep! Ol' Matty here's our key into the museum."

"So in other words, we're stealing the ship?" Lyn said looking darkly at Hector.

"No, no, no. You don't have to use the word 'steal' per say. You can say 'commandeer' or 'borrow without asking or permission' in place of 'steal'."

Lyn sighed, "Fine, if it'll help find Mark."

Matthew set to work on the lock. "Tis' ting' ere's locked up tight tas a trum," Matthew mumbled as he tried to pick the lock. He kept his tools in his mouth for easy access.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance," Legault answered. Matthew only nodded and the two of them started again on the lock. In no time at all, the lock was opened and they were free to peruse the museum at their leisure, which was to say none at all because they needed to take the ship.

Once on board, they all realized that they were missing one crucial element. "Okay everyone, listen up," Eliwood started. "Who here knows how to fly a ship?"

"Lord Eliwood, even if we knew how to man a ship, asking for us to fly it is down right insane," said Dart, a pirate who knew how to operate a vessel in the water, but not in the air.

"Aw, who cares?! We'll just do something and hope for the best!" shouted Hector.

"And there's the Hector we know," said Lyn with a smirk.

The next half hour was spent with everyone running around the ship trying to find a way to start it up. Finally, Nino shouted, "Lords! Is this it?!"

They saw Nino standing in front of a large cylinder object that ran the height of the room. It was metallic and had glittering stones embedded in it.

"Whoa, what is this thing?"

"Dunno, maybe we're supposed to do something with it."

"Get the magic users here. They're brainy enough to figure this out."

Several moments later, the 'magicians' came out. "We've figured out how to get this thing in the air. Flying and steering it is another matter."

"No prob, we'll figure out that part. Just get this thing up."

They nodded and went back into the room. Inside, they sent certain spells towards the cylinder, though not much detail shall be given because it is far too complex. Just know that the energy sent towards the cylinder was converted into a different energy and is used to generate lift for the ship, while outside winds will determine the speed of the ship, and so on.

After that, it was like any other ship, if you simply ignore the fact that you're floating several decameters off the ground and any flux in the input energy will cause you to plummet to your doom. Still, it was mostly guided by the winds like a normal ship and it can move much faster because the winds are at higher speeds at that altitude.

Being a natural pirate made Dart extremely adept for navigating the ship. Thus, command was given to him and the lords resigned themselves to helping out where they can.

To get out of the museum, they flew directly up, crashing the ceiling with a heaven-shaking sound. Then they hightailed it out of there towards the South. It was several hours before they saw something more than promising. From a distance, it looked like an upside-down triangle. As they flew closer though, it was clear that it was not an upside-down triangle. It was an upside-down pyramid. What was more was that it was floating with four smaller pyramids floating in a ring around it.

The large pyramid dwarfed the smaller ones. The smaller ones were barely big enough for a person to stand on. The larger one was, for comparison sake, was larger than the Pyramids of Giza. Yeah, that is really big, considering that it's during that time period, in that dimension, and that it's floating in midair.

They neared it and Dart dropped the anchor to steady the ship in midair.

"How was this thing hidden for so long?!" wondered Eliwood.

Lyn looked around and then looked towards the compass. "There! It's hidden by the sun in the day, and no one would brave the desert at night."

"Well no one except us," proclaimed Hector proudly. "How's the weather up there Matthew?" He asked. Matthew was sent to the crow's nest because of his ability to see far through the darkness. Unfortunately, deserts get very cold at night and even colder when you take the top roosts. Matthew couldn't say anything even if he wanted to, and if he did say something, it would probably some choice foul words directed towards his lords.

"Look! Regarde!" Shouted Eliwood.

In front of them was a small smoke cloud that was expanding by the second. Shortly after, the clouds parted down the middle to reveal a floating skull wrapped in bandages.

The bandages were not wrapped around thickly. In fact, several areas were bare. His right eye was uncovered and the eyeball itself was still in there and seemed to be the only part of his dismembered head that was remotely not decomposing. His jaw was only partially wrapped and only at the sides and underside. It was the only thing that held it up.

"Uh-hi, do you speak our language?" Hector asked uncertainly.

"He's a floating head. Why aren't we running and screaming?" asked Lyn.

"Dunno. Maybe he's here for a reason."

The head turned towards each of them when they were speaking. He opened and closed his mouth several times and moths flew from them. After shaking the last of them off, he opened his mouth and spoke in a clear voice.

"Greetings, I am Pharaoh Veri Un-khauman."

"Err…hi there, mister Pharaoh sir. Was this your place?" Lyn asked trying to be as polite as you can get when talking to a floating head.

"Indeed Miss. I was the ruler here and this is also my resting tomb. Several months ago though, some strangers went into my resting palace and disturbed me. They wanted to place something there and asked me to help those who wished entrance. Strange plans, but I complied."

"So you're here to help us then?" Eliwood was relieved that they didn't have to fight an undead.

"Only to get in. Afterwards, I'm afraid that you are on your own." He said solemnly.

"We'll figure out the rest once we're inside," said Lyn as patiently as she can. She will stop at nothing to see Mark and get a final answer from him.

"Take four casters with you, one of each type of magic. Place them on the designated pyramids and the door to the large one shall appear." With a final nod, he faded away.

"Dart, take us down, we need the magic users," said Eliwood.

"No problemo, Boss!" shouted Dart in a thick accent from who knows where.

One on the ground, decisions had to be made. Obviously, Eliwood, Hector and Lyn were coming along, and they decided to take along Erk, Canas, Lucius, and Serra. Eliwood decided to leave his mount, Veillantif, aground. Everyone else was to stay on the ground for backup, including the air-riders.

To protect themselves from the winds, each of the castors had a ward barrier placed around them and those who could use staves were equipped with one to use on themselves should the proceedings take longer than planned.

As they flew close to the pyramids, everyone could feel the hairs on their neck stand on end from the intense magical barrier around the large pyramid. It was awe inspiring if nothing else. It would be a good example to show someone that they are really insignificant.

Anyway, after dropping off the castors at the right pyramids (they had symbols on them), the lords were able to enter the larger pyramid. At the top was a large stairway that led into the depths of the pyramid.

Inside, it was surprisingly warm compared to the outside air. Small torches were lit that gave it a homey feeling. The first sections of the walls were stone, hard and cold, but they led to the first doorway that was lavishly decorated.

The door led to a larger room that was more elaborately furnished. There were red carpets and potted plants and even a coffee table with cushy looking chairs around it. Having no time to explore the expensiveness of the room, they pressed onwards. Eventually, through several more impressive rooms and corridors, they found themselves at a cross road. Three paths diverged from the single one they were on.

"Looks like we have to split up," said Eliwood sagely.

"Split up?! Are you insane?! That's when the KCHHHH! Happens!" said Hector in a loud voice. He slid one finger across his throat to emphasize the 'KCHHHH!' part.

"Don't be such a big baby," Lyn teased with a smirk as she set out on one path.

"I'm not," pouted Hector as he went on another one.

Eliwood sighed and set off on the last remaining path.

**Next up, we get to see what happens in Mark's past. If anything looks too wierd in the next few chapters, it's probably meant to be like that.**

**As for this chapter though, I know that a pyramid was a tomb for a pharaoh and not a castle, but I was running out of good names. Anyway, say the pharaoh's name out loud and see what it sounds like. It shows how he relates to his fellow subjects when he was alive.**

**If you have any questions or see something wrong (grammatical errors, which I know there are, and-or inconsistencies) please tell me.**

**Also, you'll notice that I changed the summary and name.**


	20. Chapter 18: The Neglected

**Sorry for the very overdue update. Stuff kept getting in the way...so...yeah.**

**Anyway, glad that you enjoyed it. Please don't die though, if you do, you can't keep reading. Well, if you do, then at least it will be a happy death.**

**Yes, I do admit that I borrowed the poem and glyphs from the 4th Grade Cluefinders game. I'm actually surprised that someone played that game besides me. If you look at chapters, most of them made some kind of reference to things not in this Fire Emblem game.**

Chapter 18: The Neglected

_Marius appeared in a large circular room. Screens filled every wall and there were personnel stationed at every screen. Marius walked pass them and towards a door which led to a long corridor with many more doors. Some of these doors led to rooms and some led to identical hallways with even more doors. _

_Marius knew exactly where he was going and headed there as fast as humanly possible while still keeping an air of discretion and respect around him. He ended up in front of a large door exactly like all the other doors. This one was different however, because inside was him._

_After taking a deep breath and exhaling softly, he opened the door. Inside was Methuselah, or whoever he was at the moment, standing over a table. Tamara and Tarin were standing at opposite ends of the table as well. It was really who was on the table that concerned Marius. After all this time, he was finally going to be reunited with his brother._

_"I can sense him in there, but getting him out is a whole other matter," said Mimir, or one of his counterparts._

_"Do it anyway, I want to speak to him," Marius replied without looking at him. _

_Mimir looked at him for several seconds before nodding and focusing his power. An eerie light surrounded him and transferred to Mark. It faded away and Mark mumbled something as if he was talking in his sleep._

_Mark's eyes opened to see the faces of his captors. Immediately, he tried to roll off the table and take a defensive stance. Unfortunately, being ill efficient at any physical activity made it extremely hard for him to do so and he ended up on the ground because Memoria, or someone else, stepped back to avoid being rolled under._

_After getting his wind back rather quickly, he jumped up and placed his back towards the wall and edged towards the door. _

_"I don't know how you got me here and I don't want to know, but I do know that I'm getting out soon enough."_

_"I think there's something wrong with him," said Tarin, not that Mark knew who she was at the moment. He felt something like a large weight placed back on him. His hand also felt significantly heavier. He looked down fearing for the worst of what could have happened._

_"What the-! How did I get this back?!" He shouted to them, murder burning in his eyes, not that he could have done much at the moment._

_Tamara sighed and looked at the rest of them. "Let me talk to him, he doesn't have a clue on what's happening."_

_Mark looked indignant. "HEY!!! I have lots of clues…just not that many answers."_

_"See what I mean, it's getting to his head." The others nodded and Tamara proceeded to grab Mark by the scruff of his cloak and dragged him into another room, easily overpowering him despite his protests._

_Marius sighed. If anyone can get through to Mark, it would probably be Tamara. After all, she shares a special bond with him that no other can match, a soul bond…or at least half a bond._

_It was nearly an hour before Mark came out again; looking tired and his clothes seemed slightly ruffled. Both his cheeks were red. Marius smiled, if things fall into place like it was supposed to happen in the past, then everything would be alright._

_Tamara came out behind him with a satisfied smirk. "Everything's going to go according to plans by my calculation," she whispered to him. He could always tell when Tamara lied, her voice becomes too happy or chipper, but at the moment, she wasn't lying and that gave him hope for his brother._

_"So you remember everything then Mark?" he asked._

_"No," Mark said without looking him in the eye. "I'm recovering small bits and pieces here and there from time to time. Perhaps if you showed me around to see the others, I'll be able to recover more."_

_"Hmmm…" Marius looked at Mark critically. Oh well, you can't rush recovery. "Sure! I'll take you to see Tarin, she's in charge of the troops in your absence. I know how much you like to tinker with strategy so you'll get to see the finest fighters in existence."_

_"Great!"_

In the Pyramid

Eliwood looked around at his surroundings. It's been a long walk since that fork, but luckily it was a straight path, too straight. There was nothing but a long corridor, a red carpet with gold fringes, and small torches lighting several feet in front of him before disappearing into the darkness.

That wasn't the problem. The problem was that there was no sign that the hallway was going to end anytime soon. This wasn't going to work, there has to be some secret that will get him to the end faster. Getting him to the end at this point would count as fast enough.

Walking and thinking for several more minutes, Eliwood stumbled in his mind on a memory of Mark.

_Flashback_

_"Eliwood, come here for a moment."_

_"Yes, did you need something Mark?"_

_"No I just want to tell you something important."_

_"Well I'm all ears."_

_"No you have hands and feet and a head to put those ears on. Besides if you were all ears, then how will you produce an heir to help carry on the blood line?"_

_"M-Mark!"_

_"I know, I know, I'm just joking. Anyway, I'll make this short. Remember that going forward is not always the best option. There are times when it would be wiser to turn around and walk away from what you think is your destination."_

_"But how will I know when to turn around?"_

_"Beats me. My suggestion is that if you don't try, then you'll never know."_

_"Thanks for the advice, even if it doesn't make much sense."_

_"Few good advices actually do."_

_"True."_

_End Flashback_

Eliwood sighed. Trust Mark to give him cryptic advices that somehow always seem to fall into place and him remembering it exactly when he needs to. There was nothing left to do but to turn around.

"No…It can't be!" he said in a shocked whisper. After turning around, he found himself facing the same door he used to get in. "YOU MEAN ALL THIS TIME I COULD'VE JUST TURNED AROUND!!!" he screamed, not caring who heard him.

After ranting and throwing a tantrum and shouting obscenities, Eliwood grabbed the handle and wretched the door open.

Inside was a circular room with pillars lining the edge. The center was a circular rug with colorful, yet meaningless (to Eliwood anyway) patterns. On the rug was a strange…thing.

Thing was the only way to describe it. The general shape of the main portion was like a cone with the flat face curved outwards. It looked half organic and half inorganic. There was a glass like covering, a little more than half way up, that resembled a small dome, like a window or a windshield. Small, round, jewel like stones also dotted the body. It had no other limbs that Eliwood could see, but surrounding it were thirteen small plates, no bigger that one's palm, that looked to be made from the same stuff used to make the thing. Each plate also had a small jewel.

Eliwood cautiously walked closer towards it. When he got near enough, he saw through the window like face of the thing. Inside were several thin tentacle-like appendages. Trying to get a closer look, he walked nearer and saw the inside glowed with a soft blue aura. He quickly jumped back and drew his rapier.

The central body rose off the ground several inches and the plates rose to form a circle around the middle of the body. It slowly turned to face Eliwood. It paused, and then it struck out with the plates.

Eliwood jumped backwards to avoid collision with the plates. While the plates weren't moving very fast, they provided great protection. Every time Eliwood lunged for a strike, a plate would come down and block him. The plates themselves weren't all that strong. Actually, they would get sent flying with just one hit, but because there were so many of them, and that they were so persistent, it made damaging the body that much more difficult.

Several minutes later, Eliwood was bushed. Between dodging, attempting to attack, and trying to find an opening, he barely had time to catch his breath. He took several steps back to distance himself from his opponent and see if he can find a weakness. What he saw gave him an idea.

Whenever he tries to attack, the thirteen plates would form the same pattern, a plate in the center and the other twelve plates made a ring that floated either clockwise or counterclockwise around the center one. He'll have to hit all of them before they get a chance to regroup and block him again.

He rushed forward. This was it, if he doesn't make it this time, then there was little chance he was going to later with his energy reserves depleted. Mark had a hypothesis. _When a life is endangered or near the verge of ending, the vessel automatically tries everything it can to sustain the life, even if it's just for mere seconds._ Well, hopefully he's right and all of the attacks hit.

Eliwood came forward and thrust his rapier towards the center plate. It was sent flying. Not waiting for the others to move, he pulled back and hit another one, and repeated until he knocked all of them away. He took a step back and focused what was left of his energy. He dashed forward and rammed the rapier into window like dome. It shattered easily and the body fell to the ground. The strange thing was that it remained upright, perfectly balanced on its point.

Eliwood took several well deserved breaths. He noticed the plates moving again and took a stance ready to block them if necessary. It turns out that it wasn't because the plates arranged themselves on the ground to form something that looks like stairs. They led up to the demolished window dome on the main body.

Eliwood looked at it and walked closer. It wouldn't really hurt to take a closer look. At this rate, he probably wouldn't be finding Mark any time soon. He took one gulp and walked up the plates and into the central body.

With a blinding flash, he found himself in a really strange open field. Everything seems to have been blurred slightly. Either that or he needs to start getting some glasses.

He saw a small boy with brown hair running across the field. The boy turned around and Eliwood gaped. IT WAS MARK! Only he was a lot shorter than the Mark he knew. Still, he could tell by those bright shining eyes anywhere.

"Mark! Where've you been?" called out Eliwood.

Mark paid no attention to him. "Mark! Where've you been?" a harsher voice called out from behind Eliwood. Eliwood spun around to see a plump old man. Eliwood felt something weird through his spine, and when he looked down, he saw that Mark had just ran right through him.

"I'm sorry, Master. It's just that it's so bright and colorful out here," said Mark with a happy smile.

The man was obviously not impressed. "Interesting. When I want your opinion, I'll give it to you."

Eliwood was starting to like this man less and less. "Hey! You could be a bit kinder when talking to Mark, ya' know!" he shouted. The man didn't bother responding to Eliwood.

"Come on Mark. I did as I was asked, now come back and resume your training."

"Yes sir," said Mark dejectedly.

Mark walked off with the guy and Eliwood was left in the field. There was another flash and Eliwood saw that he was in a sparsely furnished room. The objects that stood out against everything else, probably because there was nothing else, were the many racks of weapons.

Mark was standing in the middle of the room wielding a fencing sword. His opponent was another person using the same type of weapon. Mark wasn't attacking though, he was only blocking and parrying. Mark was holding his own pretty good, until he made a small slip up and was slashed on the forearm. Mark fell to the ground on one knee and dropped his sword.

Eliwood rushed over to see if Mark was alright. His arm was bleeding profusely, but his sparring opponent didn't seem to notice. In fact, he seems to want to continue fighting against Mark. Eliwood stepped between them and drew his own sword, ready to parry any attacks if he needs to.

When the opponent raised his sword for a downward strike, Eliwood held his horizontally to block it. Instead of blocking it, the sword went through his sword and him. Mark simply rolled to the side and took up the sword he dropped in his left hand.

"Next time, cut diagonally so that it gives me less room to dodge," Mark said in a raspy but higher-than-thou voice.

Eliwood was amused after he got over the shock that he was still alive. It seems like Mark was sarcastic even when he was little. While Eliwood was amused, his opponent seemed less than impressed. He pressed down on Mark even harder.

By the time they were done, Mark was covered in cuts and several bruises where his partner kicked him when he was down. Eliwood tried, but he couldn't stop him. For some reason, he kept going through everything.

There was another flash and Eliwood found himself in a small room, no bigger than a closet. It was dark, dank, and covered with mildew. He found a small figure sitting beside him.

"I wish that someone would talk to me," Mark whispered.

"I'll talk to you," replied Eliwood.

Mark turned his head around and tried to look through the darkness. "Great, now I'm going crazy. This does not bode well."

"You're not…okay maybe you are," said Eliwood unsurely.

"Great, now my mind's made a subconscious that agrees that I'm crazy. What next?"

Eliwood was confused. Wasn't Mark supposed to not see or hear him? Oh well, at least he can comfort Mark this way. But what can he say?

"Don't worry, one day you'll be free to go wherever you feel like going. And you'll have all the friends you wish for."

"Don't toy around with my feelings conscious. Underneath this rough exterior lies a puddle of self esteem and sensitivity."

Eliwood sighed. He wished he could have said more to make Mark feel better. This gloomy Mark was starting to get to him. Mark was energetic, happy, angry, anything with intense emotion that will drive him, and everyone around him, further towards their goals. This depressed Mark that sound like he's given up all hope does not do well for Eliwood's expectations.

Before Eliwood could say anything else, another flash took him some place else. He found himself in a prison like room. Mark was still there and there seemed to be a little more lighting in the room. It still didn't keep away the feeling of darkness, dankness, or the mildew. Eliwood looked down and saw a small dish of water and a quarter loaf of bread that hadn't looked as if it's been touched yet.

The door opened and a large man walked in. He was tall, wore overalls, no shirt, and a black mask that covered everything except his eyes. He walked over to Mark and pulled him up by his arm. Mark's body was limp. His eyes seemed glazed over, a sign that he wasn't registering what was happening.

Eliwood followed where the man was taking Mark. They entered a large room that Eliwood recognized from some of the darker dungeons he's been in. They were in some kind of torture room.

The Tormentor, the big guy that dragged Mark out, strung him up so that he was eye level with him. This was several feet off the ground because the guy's bigger than Hector and Mark wasn't even ten yet.

"Now then. Are you going to talk, or are we going to have to force you," he said sadistically.

Mark groaned slightly.

"Oh, cat's got you're tongue eh? No problem, I've got another cat that can loosen it." He pulled out a whip that ended in nine cords, the Cat of Nine Tails.

He brought the whip down and it struck Mark nine times. Mark's eyes widened in pain and he snapped out of his daze. His screams pierced he air as he screamed from each assault.

Eliwood again tried to help his friend, but like before, he couldn't touch anything. Eliwood looked at his friend trying to find some way to help him. He couldn't. He watched as the Tormentor put Mark through several painful trials, including rubbing pepper on his wounds. By the time they stopped, Mark's eyes were glazed over again and his breathing was soft.

The Tormentor dragged Mark back to his cell and threw him unceremoniously to the ground. Then he shut the door and locked it and walked away as if nothing had happened.

Eliwood didn't follow Mark into the cell. He wanted to find out more about these shady characters who were abusing Mark. He followed the Tormentor until he came through another door.

"How was he this time _Mr. Tormentor_?" a tall man with a mustache and a long nose asked.

"Hehehe! The kid's stronger than you thought. Didn't give up any info this time."

This piqued the long nosed man's interest. "Really?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "What tortures did you do this time?"

"Every single one of them that didn't permanently damaged him. Just like you said sir," the Tormentor chuckled snidely.

"Yes…so he's completely broken?" He asked hopefully.

"Maybe…maybe not…but most probable. Not many can stand such punishment without losing their minds. I heard him talking to himself the other day."

Eliwood felt his blood run cold. These guys were torturing him to teach him something?! Pain tolerance?! How to not give information when tortured?!

"Well, if all goes according to plan, he'll be ours soon enough. It's his destiny since he was _born_ after all." With that, the long nosed man left.

Eliwood looked on in horror. This has been going on since Mark's birth?! He was tortured to fulfill some sick twisted destiny?! Where were his parents? Surely they wouldn't let their own child take place in such activities. Where was his brother? While his brother maybe against Eliwood, and vice versa, Marius or Martin or whoever he was proved time and again that he will be there for Mark. So why not now?

With one final flash, Eliwood was sent back to the room with the thing with plates. It faded away leaving behind a small key. Eliwood picked it up and noticed a door ahead of him. The key fitted and he door opened. Eliwood continued on with a renewed flame for his friend. Mark hates pity, so he'll offer comfort instead where Lyn can't.

**This chapter's kinda dark and moody. Oh well, it sets up the scene for the next two chapters I guess. The next two should be updated at the same time if all goes according to plan. Not much to say here really. Guess where the ideas from this chapter came from.**


	21. Chapter 18: The Judged

**Due to an unexpected burst of inspiration, the two chapters were written quicker than usual. I'm going to leave the topic of what came from where alone, mainly because there might be some people who wish to figure out the things on their own. Besides, I probably won't know exactly what the details are unless I consciously wrote them out.**

**I might write an extra chapter at the end to show what I noticed, but that's far off.**

Chapter 18: The Judged

_"Here we are Mark. Enjoy."_

_"I will." Marius walked off. _

_"Hello, I am Tarin. I've looked over the troops and am awaiting your instructions Mark."_

_"I see. My memory is still hazy, so can you give me a quick run down of what's happened so far?"_

_"Of course. The loss of the troops is primarily from the Suicide Squad. We've followed your plans and are attempting to directly assault them to take out as many of them out as we can. The Suicide Squad is well adapted to this to risk high numbers of our own troops."_

_"I see," Mark said smiling softly. "Now then, will you please tell me the true strategy that you are using?" She looked up at him in surprise. "If you were really following my strategy, then I would not send troops to die needlessly. I would send out well trained troops to take them out quickly."_

_She smirked at him. "You really are the Mark they say. Let's start over, I am Tarin. I watch over the troops in your charge while you are not here."_

_"I see. Well, I am Mark. I exist."_

_She looked at him strangely. "Well I'm sure you've got questions. Let's hear them."_

_"Can you tell me more about the Suicide Squad?"_

_"You should know, you were the one who formed them in the first place if I heard correctly."_

_"Really? Well, my memory's still coming back to me, so if you would be so kind."_

_"Very well. The Suicide's Squad's main purpose is to provide a distraction for the opposition. They were recruited from those who have no qualms about dying in line of duty."_

_"It would lull the opposition into a false sense of security. Very cunning," Mark said amazed._

_"You will fit in very well," Tarin said with a small smile._

In the Pyramid

Hector was walking down a dark corridor. It was led to a rather plain door. The door led to another corridor, which led to another door. This process went on for a while. Hector was beginning to get tired of this so he took is ax and made a mark on the wall beside the door.

He went through that door and walked the length of the corridor. At the end, there was no mark. Well, at least he knew that he was walking forward at least. He went through the door again and walked down the corridor again. At the end was the same mark he made two corridors earlier. Some up there hates him, he just knows it.

Enraged that he took the wrong path, he stomped down the corridor to retrace his steps. Yanking the door open, expecting another corridor, he was surprised when he saw that it was a circular room. Pillars lined the edged and there was a rug that had patterns. It was of no importance to Hector though.

In the center of the room was a strange…thing. Thing was the only way to describe it. The general shape of the main portion was like a cone with the flat face curved outwards. It looked half organic and half inorganic. There was a glass like covering, a little more than half way up, that resembled a small dome, like a window or a windshield. Small, round, jewel like stones also dotted the body.

Extending from its back were two wing-like appendages. They were wing-like except without the flesh covering them. They were like the bare bones of a bat's wings. Hector pulled out his Silver Ax and walked up closer to it cautiously.

It didn't respond when he was right in front of it. He tapped the glass with his knuckles. "Hello in there," he said with a grin. WHAM! It happened so fast that Hector barely registered it until he was half way across the room.

The wing that Hector thought was dormant lashed out and smacked him right across the chest. Hector landed hard on his back and was winded. He gasped several times as he tried to get his wind back. After a while he finally staggered to his feet.

"Okay wise guy. That was a lucky shot," Hector yelled at him before rushing right at him. The wings reared back and swept him again.

"Another lucky shot!" The same thing happened again.

"How lucky can a guy get?!" Hector asked exasperatedly. Hector rushed forward again, this time with a plan.

All of sudden, the lights went out. "What the-?!?!?!" In the background, various sounds are heard: screams coming from Hector, a whirling sound, a saw, a cow, and several other sounds.

By the time the lights came on, Hector was standing and heavily panting. The wings of the thing were cut off and it was lying uselessly at his feet. The body looked heavily damaged and the glass dome was demolished.

"How'd you like that?" He panted out. He walked towards it. "You weren't so tough. I've faced grandmas tougher than you!" Unfortunately, while he was taunting, he didn't look where he was walking and tripped on one of the fallen wings. He careened headfirst through the broken dome.

With a flash, Hector looked up to see a room. It was slightly different from everything because mostly everything was blurred. It was like looking through one of those weird glasses Mark showed him. What was it? Corrective lens for when one didn't need them? Whatever.

It was a white room that was barely furnished. Hector looked around. He can barely see anything. Also, all the blurriness is giving him a headache. He was getting used to it though. He can see a chair with someone sitting in it. Hector decided to go up to him to see if he knows anything.

When his face came into view, Hector shouted out happily, "MARK!!!" Mark was slightly younger than he remembered, but this was Mark no doubt. Mark didn't respond to him. He only looked ahead. "Oh ignoring me huh Mark? Two can play at that game…………………….okay Mark………………….you won't win this time………………..Okay! I give up! Just please talk to me Mark!"

"You wish to know why you are here, correct?" A voice boomed from above them. Hector looked up. There was no one there. It was just a ceiling.

"Yes," Mark said, still staring unblinkingly ahead.

"The truth is Mark, that you are being prepared."

"Prepared?" Mark and Hector said at once.

"Yes, you have seen the state our world is in. We need someone strong. In every sense of the word: physically, emotionally, mentally, morally, grammatically. We want you to be that person."

"But wouldn't that make me something like the ruler of the world?" Mark asked in awe.

"In so many words yes. And why not? Once you've saved the world, people everywhere will bow down to you. You can appoint anyone to any position of your choosing. You'll become a legend."

"I don't want to be a legend," Mark said softly.

"Come now Mark. You won't be doing this for yourself alone. Your closest friends will benefit as well. Don't you want to give them a peaceful world to live in?"

"More than anything!" Mark said. "I'll do it then," he sighed. "But I don't have to like it. If you'll excuse me," he got out of the chair. Hector made to follow him. Mark walked forward but disappeared in a ball of light. Hector couldn't find him anywhere.

"Mark! Don't leave me here! I'm lonely," he whimpered sadly.

"Do you think that he's caught on to our plans?" A voice came from above again.

"Can't have! Dunno why's he's beginning to questions things now though," came a deeper voice.

"It's simple. His '_friends_' are worming their ways into his heart. They're tainting him," said a thin snide voice. "After all, wasn't it one of them that convinced you to let him out and enjoy the sun, during training no less?"

There were some sputtering heard and Hector couldn't help but snicker. "I only did it because he asked me to. You know what would have happened if I refused him!"

"Calm down everyone. We all know that what he says was true," a softer voice spoke up. "There was little anyone else could have done in that situation. Do stop mocking him for something you could not out do."

"Thank you! See, you understand."

"I am sorry, but I believe you are mistaken," the soft voice said again. "Simply because I spoke up for your defense once, does not mean that I hold any particular tie with you."

"Wh-what do you mean?!" The voice sputtered, bordering on outrage.

"That is quite simple," the snide voice said. "If you don't start proving your worth, we'll just have to terminate you permanently." The oncoming silence was only pierced by the sound of metal gently sliding against metal, blade against blade.

"You-you can't mean…!"

"We do entirely," the soft one said.

"Let's move back to the topic before he wets his pants," the deep voice commanded.

"Yes. The problem relates back to his friends. As long as they're around, they will inhibit his ability to continue growing in the direction we want," the first voice said again.

"Let's not forget that-that…_GIRL_ he's with," the sputtering voice said. It spat out the word 'girl'.

"Then our solution is simple. We get rid of the girl, he falls back to us," the snide voice suggested.

"Would not recommend such course," the soft voice objected.

"Why not?"

"Such actions may cause him to further distance from us if he finds out. There is too little data on what course of action he may be driven to."

"And how in Sanction will he find out?!" screamed the snide voice.

"There are always ways," the voice said again. "In fact, this whole conversation may be heard."

Hector froze. "Impossible, the room we're in is closed off to all. Nothing would penetrate it."

"Then what about the room below," said the soft voice with an I-know-something-you-don't edge.

"If so then we should shut it off. We're wasting too much energy nowadays anyway. However, I doubt that someone is down there. We would have seen them."

Hector looked around him as the white room suddenly had cracks in the walls. The entire room collapsed and he was thrown in darkness. With another bright flash before he was cast into oblivion, Hector found himself somewhere else.

The floor was stone and so were the walls. It was a different change from the other room. There were more people here this time, though everything was still so blurry that Hector couldn't make out any of the faces.

There was one person he could make out though. He saw the back of Mark's head and rushed forward to talk to his friend. Mark was slightly older but still not to be like when Lyn met him.

"Yo! Mark! Why'd you leave me there? Anyway, you wouldn't believe what I heard after you left!" Hector was talking animatedly to Mark, but Mark was just staring down at his lap.

"Come on Mark, let's bust out of here." Hector tried to grab Mark's arm but he just went right through him. "What the-?!"

"Mark. You know why we've called you here, correct?" Hector could have sworn that he heard that statement earlier.

Mark stayed silent. "Staying silent will only incriminate you further." Hector spun to face the person calling Mark a criminal. He faced a man on a high podium. He was wearing deep purple robes with gold fringes. Hector couldn't really make out his faces except for the vague details but he was wearing a white wig.

"Mark here's straighter than an arrow. He wouldn't break any rules and you know it. I'll vouch for you Mark!" Hector screamed.

Mark stayed silent. "You are charged with the murder of Ms. Sauris. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"

Mark stayed silent. "Very well," the voice sounded disappointed. "What is the verdict?"

"We all know that he is guilty. He's the only one who could have done it. Anyway, he didn't even bother denying it." A person from one of the side bars called out. Hector could tell that he was someone important to this situation because he was sitting with a panel of other people to the left of the guy on the podium.

"Unless he knew that you wouldn't believe him even if he told you the truth anyway!" Hector shouted at them. "Let's go Mark."

"They're telling the truth," Mark whispered so that only Hector heard him. "I only hope she got away."

"You can hear me buddy? Well let's not waste any time busting this joint!"

Hector didn't hear what the guy on the podium said. The next thing he knew, two guards just walked through him and grabbed Mark by his arms. Hector saw two black bands on Mark's wrist connected by a heavy looking chain.

The guards led Mark out of the room and downstairs to what Hector could only call a dungeon. The guards unceremoniously tossed Mark into a cell and left.

"Don't worry Mark, I'll bust you out of there," Hector said as he drew his ax. However, when he swung it, it went right through the bars. He heard someone coming down and took a step back.

Hector recognized who it was. "Good thing you're here! I understand that we may have some differences that we really need to work out, but right now, Mark's in trouble. You have to help him." Hector said really fast without taking a breath.

Marius strode in calmly. "Hello bro," he said sadly.

Mark only nodded in response.

"Please tell me the truth. I'll try and get you out as fast as I can."

Mark shook his head.

"They're not telling the truth are they?! You didn't do it! I know it!"

Mark didn't respond.

"Please Mark!"

"You have to understand," Mark began.

"I understand. You can't always control them in you. Just tell them that."

Mark turned away and faced the opposite wall. Hector was the only one close enough to hear Mark mumble, "I hope that she's still safe."

Another flash brought Hector back to the room he just left. Again, Mark was sitting in the chair facing the really high podium with a panel of people to the podium's left.

"Mark! What have you done?!?!?!" The voice from the podium commanded.

"You would already know what I've done if you've called me here," Mark said calmly, though Hector was sure that he detected a hint of defiance in Mark's voice. It was a change from the Mark a few seconds ago.

"You have broken the greatest taboo of your powers!!!"

Mark chose not to answer to that.

"You know what the punishment for that would be." Mark looked up sharply. "Where have you hidden the girl?"

"You'll get no answers from me," Mark called out mockingly.

"Get him to talk!!!" The voice called out to the guards.

"It won't work," Mark said with a small smile. "I guess that your plans are really coming back to bite you in the-!" Mark suddenly screamed as a whip lashed across his cheek.

It left a cut on his cheek but Mark didn't really look like he was in pain. His eyes were burning with defiance though. There were several punishments on Mark, but he didn't yield even slightly. Numerous times, Mark mocked them by lifelessly muttering, "OW," as if it didn't really bother him. Then there were times where he really did scream out from pain. He fell unconscious several times but he refused to tell anything.

Hector was impressed by Mark's tolerance to pain, but he did try several times to help Mark. Strange that he kept going through everything that was from this weird world.

Hector didn't get to see what the ending was because he was suddenly swallowed by yet another blinding flash. He found himself in the room with the thing with wings. It promptly faded away, leaving behind a key.

Hector took the key and unlocked the door in front of him. He hurried down the corridor hoping to find Mark. He wanted to know what happened at the end. Oh and offer Mark some words of comfort, but that was just a bonus.

**I loved writting this chapter. I don't know why, I think it's because of the different voices. Anyway, yet again, we look in on the wacky world of Mark.**


	22. Chapter 18: The Fugitive

**So here's the next chapter.**

Chapter 18: The Fugitive

_Mark came up to an old man with his back to the walls._

_"Hello, I'm Mark. Who are you?"_

_"Hello young one. I am Methuselah. At times I can also be Mimir and Memoria."_

_"I see. A split personality. Oh, sorry for my bluntness."_

_"No, no. Being blunt reminds me more of the Mark I used to know."_

_Mark eyed him warily and Methuselah nodded knowingly._

_"Don't worry, young one, I don't plan on telling anyone."_

_Mark nodded his thanks._

_"By the by, have you crafted anything new?"_

_"I believe so."_

_"Wonderful! Any chance you be willing to tell this old goat what it is?"_

_"Sure! I've written down the technique in my old book. It hasn't really been tested yet, but if it works, then it should be able to stop an opponent from using a certain abilities for a while."_

_"Be careful that it doesn't fall into the wrong hands," he warned._

_"Don't worry. He always holds it in his right hand when he reads."_

_"It's not in your possession?!" He asked surprised._

_"No."_

_"Are you sure that they are worthy?" He asked seriously._

_"I hope so…no…I know so," Mark said back confidently._

_"Well then I'm happy. See you around," Methuselah ended cheerfully._

_"Strange man…I feel like I'm a lot more like him then he lets on…"_

In the Pyramid

Lyn walked down the dark corridor as fast as she could without tiring herself out too quickly. She reached a plain looking door. She quickly pulled it open and was surprised to see another door on the other side. Not having time for games, she opened that door.

Lo and behold, behind that door was yet another. Lyn was getting angry and she quickly drew her Silver Sword. With three quick slashes, the door fell to pieces at her feet. Unfortunately, another door was behind the said door.

After muttering some curses in Sacaen, she took several steps back and breathed in. With a mighty roar, she ran and tackled the door down. Needless to say, it took Lyn the least amount of time to find the circular room.

Inside were pillars lining the edge and a colorful rug completed the ensemble. There were strange patterns on there that Lyn wondered briefly if they meant anything. Still, with her mind preoccupied by a certain tactician, she walked past without looking back.

In the center of the room was a strange…thing. That was pretty much the only way to describe it. Thing was the only way to describe it. The general shape of the main portion was like a cone with the flat face curved outwards. It looked half organic and half inorganic. There was a glass like covering, a little more than half way up, that resembled a small dome, like a window or a windshield. Small, round, jewel like stones also dotted the body.

It had two long thin arm-like appendages. Each arm had three fingers that gripped an orb with swirling blackness. Lyn had no time to waste. She was here to find Mark and she'll find Mark if it's the last thing she do. She quickly strode across the room.

The thing suddenly lifted its long appendages. As soon as Lyn saw the movement, she quickly unsheathed her sword. The battle ensued.

The thing could lash out with its long arms. However, it couldn't deal as much damage because it's holding the orbs. Noting this, Lyn stood her ground. As the arm came around, she stepped back so that she was just beyond its reach. Then she retaliated quickly with her sword.

After two attacks, the orbs were sliced off. Lyn stared at what happened next. Chains came out of the orbs and encircled the thing. It started thrashing around and Lyn was sure that if it had a voice, then it would be moaning. In fact, she felt almost sorry for it. Almost.

The dome started glowing red. The thing turned its attention back to her again. It lashed out again though this time, despite the chains, it moved faster and struck harder. Lyn barely dodged the first assault.

She stepped back several steps. The thing was still thrashing around somewhat so she couldn't dance through its defenses. It's too unpredictable. This calls for only one option. Lyn hated using this, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

She put away her Silver Sword and took out her Sol Katti. She rushed forwards and slashed at the two arms. This was an all or nothing attack. If she hits, then she's good. If she's hit, then it will deal massive damage. She avoided the two arms.

Luck was with her, she saw a slight opening just below the dome. CRITICAL! She disappeared and reappeared in front of her opponent. She delivered a string of power blows followed by a thrust so fast, that it created several images of her going through it.

She landed and sheathed her sword. She turned around to face her opponent. Amazingly it was still in one piece, though all of the attacks shattered the dome. Despite the fact that she felt sorry for it, she wasn't in any position to tarry. She started walking towards the door.

She suddenly felt that something was wrong. She turned around in time to see one the arms reaching out for her. It grabbed her securely by the waist before she could do anything and tossed her into the shattered dome.

Slowly fading in from the darkness, she saw that she was outside in a dark field. The sky had dark storm clouds and field itself was filled with nearly pitch black grass. The air itself felt dark and heavy to her. Still, she couldn't help but feel that the area was permeated by a light sensation she's felt somewhere before.

She looked around and saw another shadow close to some bushes. She cautiously walked towards it.

"Hello, I'm Lyn. I would like to know where I am."

The shadow looked up and came into the limited light. Lyn gasped.

"Hi! I'm Mark. Are you okay Miss? You look pale. Here, you can come to my house!" He grabbed her by the wrist with one hand and picked up his basket with his other hand.

This was definitely not the Mark that she knew…but she still felt like he was the same person. He's a lot shorter, childish, and all in all younger than Mark…but she still could see that this was the childhood of Mark. Young and innocent, yet carrying a heavy burden to help someone else.

Mark was talking animatedly and Lyn was listening. He led her to a large mansion. The only problem Lyn had with it was that it was dark, decrepit, and probably not very safe or healthy for a young child. The gates were made from black iron and had sharpened points on the ends to keep intruders out. A winding path led to the door going through several groves of dead trees.

Mark just kept on talking like this was the most normal thing in the world. "These are my trees and this is my road. I use to have bees, now I have a toad."

When they reached the door, Lyn couldn't help but feel as if the house was haunted. However, when Mark led her inside, she saw a comfortable and homely house. It was modestly furnished though it kept a sense of wealth.

Mark dragged Lyn down to the dining room where she waited. Mark went and cleaned himself off and prepared dinner. Amazingly, he made a delightful dinner in just thirty minutes.

"I'm so glad that you came to see me. All of the other villagers avoid me."

"Why would they do that?"

"Oh, you don't know? Well then, it's not really that important."

"Don't worry. You can tell me, I won't avoid you."

"Okay Lyn, I trust you," Mark said with a smile. Lyn smiled sadly as she remembered the same thing happening with an older Mark.

"I'm here on a training trip."

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"That's not all…Most of what I do is considered taboo by the villages."

Lyn was surprised. "Like what?"

"Well…I study certain branches of Elder Magic."

Lyn continued looking at him. "And?"

Mark was taken back. "Don't you understand? That's dark magic. It's suppose to be evil."

"Do you use it for evil?"

"No!"

"Then it's not evil." Mark looked at her in shock. "You choose what to do with your power. It's not what something is that deem it good and evil, but what their choice is. Besides, you can't always classify things into white and black. It's impossible," Lyn dismissed with a wave of her hand. "A friend of mine told me."

Mark continued looking at Lyn for a while longer. "Thanks Lyn."

Mark remembered his question from earlier. "What were you doing out there anyway?"

"I was looking for someone. The same friend."

"Oh? Well, I'm probably not going to know who. If it's not too much trouble, can you tell me why?"

"I want to ask him something."

"What?"

"… … … … I honestly don't know," Lyn said quietly. She hasn't really thought about what she was going to ask him.

"Well, if you guys are friends, then I'm sure you can work it out," Mark said with a happy grin.

"Mm," Lyn nodded happily. "By the way, you never told me why you're staying up here."

"Oh that, well, I'm supposed to be training."

"You said that, but what's your training? It can't be just for the Elder Magic."

Mark looked around as if there was someone hiding close by. "I'm not really supposed to tell anyone, but I trust you Lyn so I'll let you in on a little secret." He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I'm here because I'm supposed to be practicing my forms."

"Forms?" Lyn asked as he returned to his regular position.

"Yep," he said happily, but then his face fell. "I don't really like them though."

"Why?"

"Because they're too unpredictable."

"Isn't that why you're training?"

Mark shook his head. "They specified my training so that it wasn't for control, but for lethality."

"What?" Lyn asked, her eyes widening.

Mark nodded. "You can see it tonight if you want," Mark said softly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

The rest of the day was spent touring Mark's house. Most of it was decked out in splendor. Lyn couldn't help but feel that this really was Mark when he was little. Still, that can't be right…could it?

Lyn silently snorted. As if, when it comes to Mark, everything you know about anything just goes flying out the window. Still, it was kinda nice to spend time with this little Mark. She could just imagine living with him and helping him if it wasn't for the fact that she was searching for a much older Mark.

When it was night, Mark led Lyn into one of the rooms he didn't show her earlier.

"Don't worry Lyn. I've seen some of the other observers use this room before. It'll keep you safe."

Lyn was worried at the sound of that, but she went into the room nevertheless. The room was plain but there was a window at the far end, which wasn't really that far. She went forward and looked through the window.

She saw that that she was higher than the room past the window. Mark was already down there. She could see him clearly.

"You ready Lyn?" He called out.

"Yeah."

"Well I hope so anyway." Lyn was wondering whether or not he heard her.

Mark stood still for a second. Then before her very eyes, Mark started changing. His hair started growing longer and fur sprouted along his skin. They pushed through his clothes as Mark fell onto his knees. Lyn winced as she heard several wet cracks. She could see a furry tail rapidly growing. Her eyes widened as she recognized his face. Mark's jaws lengthened as razor sharp teeth formed from his normal ones. His eyes went from golden irises to golden pools. He was the wolf that she fought earlier while he was still under the control of Marius.

Alarms suddenly blared around her. "WARNING! WARNING! SUBJECT CLASSIFIED UNDER POTENTIAL DANGER! LOCKING ALL DOORS! WARNING! WARNING!"

Lyn looked around as she saw red lights flashing. She turned her attention back to Mark. She saw the door leading to the room lock itself. Red words were projected across the walls of the room. SUBJECT ENTERED WRATH ESTIMATED LVL. 17 DO YOU WISH TO PROCEED?

Lyn was confused. Was she being asked? "Err…yes?"

The words faded away and targets were raised from the ground. Mark looked around. He lunged at one and ripped it shreds. While he was working on the third one, several sharp flying discs were launched right at him. Mark amazingly leapt up and dodged all three of them. Lyn was in awe by his technique.

Each one of his movement were planned methodically so that they each contributed to later moves to their maximum efficiency. She didn't really get why he was worry about control. He seems to be doing it pretty well. Each one of his attacks was a killing blow. Sure there were several extra attacks that accompanied it, but what do you expect from a wolf.

By the time it ended, the wolf Mark had gotten several cuts and was breathing hard. He collapsed to the ground and promptly returned back to humanoid Mark. Lyn wanted to rush down to help him, but she was still locked inside the room.

Mark groaned as he sat up. He crawled over to a stone pedestal that rose up out of the floor. "I hate this part," Lyn heard him mutter.

He pulled a small knife out of his pocket. Lyn recognized the knife as the dagger that he gave to them. She couldn't help but scream when she saw him slit his wrist and let the blood fall into the pedestal. The blood glowed bright red before settling down again. Mark collapsed at the base.

SUBJECT HAS REVERTED BACK TO STABILITY UNLOCKING DOORS

Lyn promptly rushed out the room and down to where Mark was. She applied a vulnerary to his wrist and quickly bandaged it up. He was small enough that she can carry him on her back. It was surprisingly easy. She carried him all the way to his bedroom that he showed her earlier.

She laid him on his bed and cleaned the rest of his minor wounds.

"See what I mean?" Mark mumbled.

"Don't try to talk," she chastised him.

"I've been through worse."

"Doesn't seem possible."

"Heh."

Several minutes lapsed by in silence.

"What did you mean by not having enough control? You seem to do well enough," Lyn said.

"That wasn't me," Mark answered quietly.

"Eh?"

"That was the other side of me. When I go into one of my forms, I no longer have any control over what happens. What's worse is that I go berserk in that form," Mark said sadly.

"You didn't seem like it. All of your moves went together perfectly."

"Yeah…for a perfect kill…" Mark was beginning to lose consciousness. Eventually he drifted off to sleep.

Lyn looked at him. It was hard to believe that this fragile boy was the killing beast she saw just minutes ago. She shook her head. Mark's Mark and that's that. Nothing further, so she shouldn't worry about that.

Deciding that she'll go and get a glass of water in case Mark woke up, she headed towards the door. As soon as she grabbed the handle, she faded into the darkness and found herself no longer in the room.

Mark woke up several hours later feeling greatly refreshed. "Lyn? Oh well, I suppose that she's gone off to find whoever she's looking for. I hope I see her again."

Lyn looked around to see herself in a bright field. It was safe to say that she wasn't in the area where Mark was. Still where is this place? No matter, she decided. She'll just have to find someone and ask them. She picked a random direction and headed off.

She saw a shadow standing on the field and walked faster to meet up with him. She stopped short when she realized who she was running up to. Standing on the hill was Mark, completely decked out like when she first met him.

He hadn't noticed her yet, so she quickly ducked into some conveniently placed bushes. His face was passive for several minutes and she was ready to go up to him and talk. However, she stayed still in her hiding place. Something told her not to go out until the time is right and that she'll know when the time is right.

It was a good thing that she waited, because after several minutes, Mark's face broke out into a smile. Lyn leaned slightly to see why. She saw a girl running to meet up with him.

The girl was shocking to say in the least. Her hair was rose pink and tied into a ponytail like Lyn's. Still, Lyn was sure that she's seen the base of the girl's hair somewhere before. The clothing of the girl's was also like that of Lyn's. In fact, it closely resembled the clothing she got at that questionable theater. Just who was this girl?

She shifted slightly. She can now hear them talk.

"You mean you don't know why you're here either?" Mark's familiar voice came.

"Nope, I thought that you called me here," spoke a sweet voice that Lyn was sure she's heard somewhere else before.

There was a slight rumble and Lyn felt another presence. Unfortunately, Lyn could tell that the present wasn't here for a nice chat. It was bordering on hate, malice, and murder. What kind of presence is that?!

"We'll tell you why you're here!" A voice boomed from the sky. Mark pulled the girl closer and they both looked up at the sky. "The reason we've brought you here is because you have been tainting the mind of our Mark!" There was a pause and several chuckles were heard from the sky as if they were sharing some private joke. "Therefore, we hereby decree and give Mark full use of his Wrath form to terminate this girl."

Mark's eyes widened. "No," he gasped out.

"You don't have a choice," the voice said gleefully. Lyn quickly jumped out of her hiding place. She felt the presence dissipate.

She saw that Mark was already starting to change, though she also saw that he was doing all that he could to stop it. The girl was just staring at Mark with her eyes in fascination, wonder, awe, and fear.

Mark looked up and noticed Lyn. "Lyn, please, get her to safety!" He called out urgently. Lyn looked back at him and nodded.

"Come on! We have to get out of here!" Lyn cried to the girl. Her words fell on deaf ears. Lyn tried pulling the girl with her, but the girl stubbornly refused to go anywhere.

Lyn glanced back at Mark. At first, she thought that he had managed to subdue the wolf inside, but she quickly determined that Mark was definitely not winning.

Lyn had by now given up on moving the girl. The only thing she could do would be to keep her safe until Mark becomes the dominant one again. She quickly unsheathed her Mani Katti. The Sol Katti will slow her down too much.

Mark was screaming in pain and for good reason. Lyn saw that trying to stop the transformation half way was a bad idea. Mark looked stuck half has a person and half as a wolf. Short fur has grown on his arms and legs, peeking from underneath his clothes, but his tail hasn't grown yet. His eyes are still normal except they were yellow pools. His ears tapered to a point instead of being round. His teeth, which were bared at the moment, have become fangs and his nails were claws.

He thrashed around for several more minutes until he calmed down. Then he turned to face Lyn and the girl. Lyn wasn't sure if he was still Mark or not. Either way, it wasn't exactly safe for her to put away her sword just yet.

Her fears turned true as Mark lunged towards her. He knocked her to the ground and would have ripped out her throat if she hadn't kicked him off. He landed on his back but quickly scrambled back to his feet. He snarled at her. She was a slight pest that kept him from his meal, nothing more.

Pests are pests, but Lyn had a sting. Her sword darted in and out, keeping him on his toes. He smirked, it's not everyday that he meets someone who can keep up with him. The fight continued on with neither side winning. Lyn was at a disadvantage though. She didn't, wouldn't, and couldn't bring herself to bring harm on Mark. Mark had no such qualms.

He lashed out with his claws, and whenever close enough, fangs and was steadily wearing Lyn down. He smirked again. She was a good fighter, that was true enough, but she'll never guess this next move. He struck out with his left arm, which she blocked. He quickly stepped back, spun to his left and thrust straight out with his right arm.

Lyn's eyes widened as red blood stained the grass beneath her feet. Her knees weakened and she slumped to the ground; her sword dropped and forgotten for the moment. Mark pulled his bloodied hand from her abdomen. He stared in horror at the blood drenched limb. He's gone back to his normal form.

The pink hair girl had pushed her out of the way at the last moment. The force caused Lyn to evade Mark's claws, but then the girl was then in its direct path.

Mark collapsed to his knees as well. He supported her by her neck.

"Why?!" Mark cried out. "What have I done?!"

"Don't worry yourselves over this. It's only a flesh wound."

Lyn looked at her. "A flesh wound?! You have a hole through you!"

Lyn started going through her pack to find something to help her.

"Don't bother Lyn," the girl coughed up some blood. Lyn looked at her. She chuckled slightly. "Mark's told us of your little visit. Thank you…"

Her eyes lost a little light.

"Don't leave us!" Mark cried out at her. "I'll hunt your spirit down if I have to!"

"Heh… just… like… you… Mark… Live… well…" She turned to Lyn. "Don't… let... him… do… something… stupid…"

With that, her eyes faded and Mark screamed out in anguish. Lyn placed her hand on his shoulder to offer what comfort she could. She looked down at her hand as she felt a strange tingling sensation. She gasped in shock as she saw herself fading away.

She was engulfed in the dark again as she desperately tried to get back to Mark. She found herself inside a large stone room. From the looks of it, she was underground. There was a minimal amount of light, and eventually, she focused her eyes enough to make out objects in the dark.

"Lyn? Good timing. Smart thinking on hightailing it out of there. The patrols were there in no time," Mark's voice drifted to her.

She looked around and saw Mark standing a bit further in front of her. He was hunched over, drawing something on the floor. Lyn moved closer to him and saw that he was drawing a large seal on the ground. She saw that the medium he was using was blood.

"You don't have to do much. I've almost finished. All I need is for you to be witness."

"Witness for what?"

"Don't worry. Just watch. I'll bring her back. Great to see you back though. Thought you were captured for a while."

Mark stood up. He walked over to where a body lay covered in a white sheet. He took a breath and drew the sheet back. Lyn saw that it was the body of the girl Mark killed just moments ago…to her anyway.

"Remember when I told you that I was studying certain branches of Elder Magic?"

"Yeah."

"Well, one of them happens to be Necromancy."

Lyn gaped at him. Necromancy was the art of awakening the dead or something like that.

"Close. Necromancy is the art of dealing with the dead. It falls under several categories actually. You can speak with them (also called Spirit Calling, Seers, etc), get rid of them (mainly called Exorcism), and resurrecting them (obviously called Resurrection)."

"Okay…" Lyn said warily.

Mark sighed slightly. He shook his head and stared at the body. The seal underneath him started glowing and it cast an eerie shadow on his face. His mouth was moving, but Lyn didn't hear any words. Now that she looks back on it, something feels off whenever she's heard someone, anyone excluding her, talking in this world.

Mark would pause at different intervals and make gestures. Lyn couldn't understand what they could even possibly mean. Mark suddenly looked angry. Lyn again couldn't understand why.

He walked over to the edge of the seal and grabbed something. Lyn stared at the weapon that he was holding in his hand. It was something like a poleax attached to a handle. There was a hand guard at the handle.

He walked back to the center in front of the girl's body. "You don't believe. I'll show you," Mark mumbled. He looked back at Lyn and gave her a cheesy grin. "OBSERVE!" he shouted as he plunged the weapon into his chest.

Lyn screamed out. Mark just stood there as a ghostly heart ascended out of his chest. Mark looked at it longingly for a second before pulling the weapon out. The poleax like weapon shimmered and changed. The handle disappeared and the hilt bulged slightly before opening to reveal a rather sinister looking eye. The poleax head changed into a point and opened up. By the end of the transformation, the whole blade looked like a claw tipped dragon wing.

He lifted the sword and brought it down quickly, slashing his heart in two. He winced and Lyn took a step forward. He shook his head, signaling her to stay put. Immediately, the sword changed again. The handles came back, although they were two wings this time, one black and one white. There was also a grayish wing near the tip.

Mark jump back a bit, twirled the blade expertly, and shot a thin beam of light towards the heart. The hearts glowed even brighter and one piece floated back to him, while the other floated over to the girl.

Mark smiled and collapsed on the ground. The sword disappeared. Lyn rushed forward to him.

"Don't worry about me Lyn. Just a little tired," he panted out. "Good job on the witnessing anyway. I've got another job for you. Get her out of here and find someplace safe to put her until she wakes up."

"What about you?"

"I told you. Don't worry."

They looked towards the door as there were several poundings. "Hurry," Mark urged. "They're almost here. I'll deal with them. You two just escape. I meet up with you soon."

Lyn hoisted the girl onto her shoulders to find that she was lighter than one would expect. Mark led her to a cabinet. He opened the door and shoved her inside. Lyn felt wind whipping around her in the darkness, and before she knew it, she was outside beside a tree.

The sky was dark and the air was cool. She looked around and found a small cave that would suffice for shelter for the moment.

Once there, she formed a crude, yet effective, bed for the girl, who was breathing again. She sat down and wondered what will become of Mark. Knowing him, he'll have found some way to worm his way out of any trouble.

It was a while, but the girl eventually woke up. She was slightly disoriented.

Lyn felt herself fading again and hurried to update the girl.

"Mark brought you back to life," was all she managed before she was taken away.

The girl looked down at her hands and noticed that she was alive. "I thought I told you to keep him from doing something stupid…like this," she muttered.

Wild images flashed around Lyn as she felt the darkness closing around her. It was making her rather uncomfortable and tried to find the light. It was kinda hard to find it among the whirlwind of images. They were making her dizzy so she focused on one of them.

The image paused in front of her and acted like a… what did Mark called those again?... Movie, that's it. She saw some armed men chase Mark around. Mark was avoiding them for the most part. Lyn cried out several times when Mark was about to be attacked, but he avoided each and every assault. Eventually, Mark ran up some steps to a rather important looking temple. The screen didn't show inside the temple, but Mark entered first, and as the guards were trying to enter, there was a burst of light from inside. Lyn could only guess that Mark got himself out somehow. She half hoped, half knew, that he got out because the temple collapsed two seconds later.

The screen faded away and left Lyn in the dark again. She looked around before finding colors coming into focus. Lyn looked around to find herself back in the circular room. The thing faded away to form a key that fit with the door. Lyn hurried on. While the whole incident with the past Mark was cool and all, she still had her own Mark to find.

**An there you have it. Another chapter, another day. **

**If you're wondering about the corridors, here's what happened. Eliwood had to turn around to see the correct door. Hector had to retrace his steps back along one corridor. Lyn had to open the door inward, instead of pulling it towards her.**


	23. Chapter 60: Past, Present, Future

**I apologize for the tardiness of this chapter. With school coming back and all the packing that needs to be done, I didn't have a lot of time. Also, I had other things to be working on. On another note, I'm getting strange vibes about this story. Maybe I'm paranoid, maybe I'm not. Tell me if something's wierd or if it's moving too fast.**

Chapter 19, 20, 21: Past, Present, Future

Eliwood threw open the door at the end of the corridor.

Hector threw open the door at the end of the corridor.

Lyn threw open the door at the end of the corridor.

They looked in to notice a large room with a giant instrument in the center. They also noticed each other standing at different ends of the room.

"Guys! You won't believe what I just saw!" they all shouted at each other at the same time. They met in the middle and told each other of the adventure that they just saw. So far, the timeline looked something like this.

Ever since Mark was born, he was marked down for something that would make him a hero in the eyes of everyone. Even if he doesn't want to be worshipped, he was willing to do it if it meant making the world a better place for his friends. He was trained ever since he was little and put through various torture methods to increase his tolerance to them. Apparently he has forms which may prove lethal if released in the vicinity of anyone. He killed a girl, was put on trial, resurrected her, put on trial again, and escaped before anything could be done.

"I think that escaping from them was the last thing he did before he met up with me," Lyn said wonderingly. "He was wearing the same thing I found him in and he was almost the same age."

"Then we have to ask the question 'Why were you able to interact with him?' Is what we saw really the truth?" Eliwood asked.

"I dunno. I say, find Mark and ask him or one of his captors the question. We won't get anywhere by staying here," Hector suggested.

They nodded their agreement and began trying to find a way out.

The room was very big. It could easily hold the ship they were traveling on and still have room to spare. The room wasn't empty though. The giant instrument stood in the center in all of its awe.

It was large and gold…and that was the only way to actually concisely describe it. There was a harp here, chimes there. The whole monument seemed like a cacophony of instruments blended together.

"Hey, look here," Lyn called out to the two guys. In front of her were a lever and a sign. It said:

**Pull Here to Experience a World of Music**

"Well let's get to it," Hector said cheerfully and pulled the lever before his friends could stop him.

The ground suddenly lurched and they all pulled out their weapons in case of an attack. The shaking didn't subside until after several minutes, during which Hector was screaming profanities and Lyn and Eliwood screaming at him.

After a while, the shaking stopped and they looked around. They heard a soft scraping sound from above and jumped back incase something was to fall on them. Carefully, they saw a small stone slab slide away and a small metallic ball, no bigger than three centimeters fall down.

They cautiously watched as it dropped onto a spiraling slide and continued to roll down. They craned their necks as they watched the ball continue on its predetermined path. It passed through the first set of instruments. The ball pushed aside several levers and it set the machine in motion.

Thin, spidery legs moved about, plucking the strings of a strange instrument that none of them recognized. It had several strings, each of which had two legs to play, one for plucking the strings and one for changing the notes, and a large hole in the center. The sound was melodic, though it had a herky-jerky feeling to it that was not uncomfortable.

The ball passed several more rings and pushed off another lever. Several arms unfolded themselves from their resting place. They started playing on strings in perfect harmony with the earlier piece, even though it lacked the herky-jerky notes. It was a lot smoother and replayed some parts as if to reiterate something.

Round and around the ball went, taking off pegs and levers to start the music. All together, the music still had a piece of harmony that was apparent. Like a master weaving his art in an intricate and delicate pattern. Bass, woodwinds, percussions all flowed at once in the masterpiece.

When it finally ended, the three were left in a sense of wonder and awe. Such a machine, so grand and majestic. The lords looked around to see the machine had stopped. The music reminded them of Nils. His music refreshed them in a way uncannily like the machine before them.

The looked around again as they heard something creak and groan. The ground beneath them shuddered and started to crack. The ground collapsed and the three of them fell along with the machine. The world went black to them.

When they opened their eyes, they found themselves in a dark room. They can see each other clearly enough. The machine was a wreck behind them.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Eliwood wondered.

"Dunno," Hector muttered as he walked around to find a way out.

They both turned around as they heard Lyn sharply gasped. Standing in front of her was Mimir, or whoever he was. He just smiled pleasantly at them like being trapped in a giant floating pyramid was something that he ran into everyday.

He walked away from them and a door appeared. Without opening the door, he walked through it.

The three lords looked at each other.

"We don't really have much of a choice," Eliwood reminded them.

They bravely walked towards the door. Inside was a lavishly decorated room. What's with this pyramid? Half of it's decrepit and the other half was fit for royalty.

Mimir, or whoever, was standing in the center of the room.

"Welcome," he called out amiably at them. "I suppose you are wondering to the mysteries of this pyramid. However, if you truly wish to know the answer, the answer is within you."

"What are you talking about?" Hector asked.

"I digress. If you want to exit this castle, then you should go through this door." He faded away and a door appeared in the center facing them. He reappeared beside the door. "Or perhaps you should go through this one." He faded away again and another door facing the left appeared. "But then again, this one might be just as good." He reappeared and disappeared to the right of the first door leaving another one.

"I'll tell you," Hector said. "The kook's Mark when he gets older."

"Come on, we don't have much to lose," Lyn yelled at them. "Let's just pick a door and go."

In the end, after several games of rock-paper-scissors, which Hector was accused of cheating, they decided to go through the middle door.

"We could have decided that without all of that hassle," Eliwood stated simply.

"Yeah, but it wouldn't be as much fun," Hector argued.

"Can we please just keep on going?!" Lyn shouted.

Before she was even finished, she yanked open the door and jumped through. The other two lords scrambled in after her.

They looked around to find a large and mildly crowded street. It was peaceful. The air it had was somewhat like that of Arcadia. People coming and going, looking at stalls and buying. No violence, tolerance for different races, there were several people that they were sure weren't human. Tails and ears obviously gave that away.

They walked down the street, trying to influence as little as possible. They found out they could influence the world around them because Lyn bumped into a boy with glasses. He was strange. Why, Lyn couldn't figure out, but she has a feeling that he wasn't suppose to be in the picture.

At the end of the street was another door. It was just standing in the middle of the street and no one noticed it. '_Just like that boy._' Lyn thought.

With nothing else to do, they went through the door. On the other side was Mimir, or whoever. He smiled at them.

"So, did you like what you see?"

"Okay, enough mind games old man," Hector retorted angrily.

"But the mind games have just begun," he said. His eyes flashed dangerously. "I am Memoria, The Memory." So I was wrong…He's three people okay?!

A purple seal glowed underneath him as he started chanting very quickly. Before the lords could even ready their weapons, he shouted, "TRANCEND THE SKIES AND STRIKE DOWN MY OPPONENT WITH THY CRIMSON LIGHTNING! THUNDER BLADE!"

A giant purple sword crashed from the sky. Had they not jumped out of the way, the sword would have skewered them. The sword crackled with electricity for a second before sending the pulse through the ground. Luckily, they were far away enough so that they only felt minor tingles.

"Is that all you've got?" Memoria called out to them. "Take this."

Giant bubbles formed around him and homed in on them.

"What is this?!" Hector yelled as his ax went through the bubble causing it to split in two.

"I don't know!" Eliwood shouted back. His rapier couldn't pierce through them.

Lyn was flipping through the bubbles. '_If they can't be destroyed…_' She maneuvered herself until she was next to Memoria. "TAKE THIS!"

She slashed at him. Her attack missed. He faded away and reappeared on the opposite side of the room.

He lifted his hand and it started glowing pale green. "EXCLALIBER!" Giant pendulums flowed across the room. They were all scrambling to get out of the way of the blades. Lyn was having the easiest time because she was more built for speed.

"Interesting enough," Memoria said. He frowned slightly. "I suppose I'll be leaving things up to them for now." He faded away. The three doors came back, except the middle door was locked.

"Great, we're going to have to go through all three doors," Hector muttered.

They decided to take the door on the left. They entered into a world of darkness.

"I've seen this world," Lyn said. The other two looked at her. "This is like the place where I've met Mark as a child."

The world was bathed in a dark light. Everything was no longer cheery. They found the street they traveled on about ten minutes ago. The stones were cracked and disorderly. The people were no longer friendly. They were arguing over prices, stalls, anything they could think of.

Some were sick and where wheezing in the street. They kept on walking. What could have happened to such a place?

Lyn bumped into another person. It was the same boy. He hasn't really seemed to age since they saw him. His eyes widened in recognition of Lyn. Lyn hurried past him.

Through the crowds, they lost track of the guy and it seemed as though he's lost them as well. People were jostling each other out of the way to get to the supplies. The only thing the lords could interpret from these actions is that there was a shortage of supplies, but it didn't take a genius to realize that.

They continued until they found a familiar door at the end of the street again. Hurriedly, because they wanted to get out of that dismal world, they yanked open the door and piled out.

Memoria was standing on the other side.

"Actually no, I'm Mimir."

"Huh?"

"Like I said, I'm Mimir."

"You said that."

"Correct Ms. Lyn. I can see why your Mark enjoys your company," Mimir said with a pleasant smile.

"Okay old dude, start explaining," Hector commanded.

"Very well," he gave in quite easily. "I suppose that Memoria hasn't explained things very well. Please forgive him. He is not very sociable. He often remembers the olden days where all was right. He regrets not being able to do anything.

"As for what has happened though, I'm sure that you've had a good view of the worlds where we have come from. The first was from the past, the second is the present. Our world is dying."

"Then do something about it," Lyn shouted at him. When the others looked at her, she shrugged. "I may be against them, but I can't help but feel pity for that world." She looked down. "I hate people having to suffer."

"People suffering is never a good thing," Mimir replied. "And we are working on a new era."

"Okay then, so why do you have to go and kidnap Mark?" Hector asked.

"Ah, but you see, he is what we are doing to return the world to its former glory. Maybe even more."

"What are you talking about?" Eliwood asked.

"Mark is the crux of our plans," he smiled wryly. "Or at least most."

"Quit talking like that!" Hector screamed exasperatedly.

"Then why not let our hands talk," he said, his eyes flashing again. His hands wove an intricate pattern. Before any of them could move, water flooded the room, reaching up to their ankles.

"A little puddle isn't going to stop us," Hector said back confidently.

Mimir's body seemed to become unstable for a moment before it completely collapsed into the water. When it collapsed into the water, it wasn't like a person that fell unconscious and fell into the water. His body became water.

Lyn was pulled down as a tendril of water wrapped around her throat. Desperately, she slashed at it with her sword. Surprise, surprise, her sword went through the water without any resistance.

The other two weren't faring so well either. As soon as they noticed Lyn was pulled down, they became wary for what may happen next. There wasn't much they could have done to help Lyn. Besides, while the only semi-solid part of the tendril was too close for her to cut, it was solid enough for her to maneuver until she could breathe again.

Unfortunately, this still left her in a very useless position.

"Wish… Mark… was… here… to… help… us… out," Hector said as he dodged the tendrils.

"Well he isn't, so think of something," Lyn called back.

"Why don't you? You're just sitting there," Hector retorted.

Eliwood intervened before it got too out of hand. "We need to get the water out of here."

"We know that," Lyn said back. "Tear down the wall then."

"Why didn't you say that sooner?" Hector said.

"Because I thought that you two would figure it out."

Eliwood and Hector both met up in front of the door.

"On the count of three?" Eliwood asked. Hector nodded.

"Ready…"

"THREE!" Lyn screamed. Hector barreled forward and blew the door open. Eliwood just watched on in surprise. Lyn was surprised that it he actually fell for it.

The water flowed out, including the tentacle that was attempting to choke Lyn. Hector was not very impressed with Lyn's tricks.

"I thought that the Sacaen were noble," he said with a pout.

"We are," Lyn said in a smug manner. "We also have a very good humor."

"Wise gal," Hector said as he walked towards the newly appeared doors.

The next world they saw a world similar to the first world. It was filled with positive energy. The only difference was that it had strange horseless carriages. Didn't Mark mention them? Vehicles…cars?

The buildings were huge. They also had a tall metal point at their tops. At least now they understood why Mark called them skyscrapers. You really had to see them to actually understand them.

"Weird," Hector muttered.

They walked around like last time.

"Isn't this the same street we're walking down?" Eliwood asked.

"I dunno, probably," Hector replied.

Lyn, once again, bumped into someone.

"We just keep on bumping into each other don't we?" The same boy asked. He still hasn't aged at all. This time he had a white owl on his shoulder.

"We're just passing through," Lyn said off handedly.

"Well be careful," he muttered. "Don't let me catch you doing anything to this world."

They quickly left the boy. Or was it the boy that quickly left them? They continued down the street until they found the familiar doors. Wait, doors?

In front of them were indeed two doors. One was bathed in a golden aura though.

"What's with this door? I can't get though it," Hector said as he tried the golden door. He couldn't breach the golden aura.

"I guess we have to try the other one then," Eliwood said.

The other door held a world even bleaker than the second world they've been to.

The sky was dark and cast eerie shadows on the world underneath it. The street itself was nearly devoid of any life whatsoever. The winds were howling, a storm was coming.

Lyn looked up at the sky. "LOOK! Dragons!"

Hundreds of thousands of dark shadows darted through the sky. There were all kinds of dragons. Wyverns, fire dragons, and ice dragons were among them. They were roaring, attacking, and overall terrifying the city below.

"It would break Ninian's heart to see this," Eliwood sighed sadly.

They heard a loud roar as a dragon flew closer to the ground. It was a red wyvern. It roared and crashed into a building. People were scrambling to get out of the way fast enough.

Hector looked closely and saw that there was a girl near the base of the building. Hector started running towards her. The girl seemed oblivious to the ruckus around her. Hector wasn't going to make it in time.

As a particularly large block fell towards her, Hector despaired. The girl on the other hand was unfazed. She reached into her black coat and pulled out an amazingly long sword.

Her hair changed from black to glowing crimson and embers floated around her hair. The sword burst into flames as she lifted it straight up. Hector felt the energy leaving the sword. It split the rock into two pieces.

She jumped up onto the rock and proceeded up the broken building, using the falling pieces as stepping stones.

Hector meanwhile was mesmerized. She was wearing a particularly short skirt under her black trench coat, giving him a good view. Unfortunately, the pieces were heading for him. He noticed in time to give a panicked scream.

Eliwood and Lyn looked over when they heard a girl's scream. No wait, that was Hector. They watched in horror as his seemingly inevitable doom was approaching.

While all of this was happening, the girl that Hector was peeping at earlier was trying to climb the building to get to the dragons. However, once she heard her, I mean, _his_ scream, she was faced with a tough decision. Should she go on and get to some of the dragons before it was too late, or should she go and save the guy? Decisions, decisions…

Hector closed his eyes and was saying what was supposed to be his final words to the world, which pretty much consisted of everything that he's done from the moment he was born. No one wants to hear your life story you know.

As the rock was about to collide with his incredibly thick skull, it suddenly shattered. The small pieces bounced harmlessly off of him.

Hector slowly opened one eye to see what happened. The girl he was watching so intensely until just a few seconds ago was standing above him with her sword in hand.

She looked down at him with a condescending look. She looked up as a large shadow was cast on the two of them.

"Get out of there; it's too large to be destroyed without wasting existence!" A deep voice spoke from out of nowhere.

While Hector was looking around to see who said that, the girl grabbed his wrist and pulled him up. Hector looked at her. Her face was etched with determination.

Her hair started whipping in the wind. All of a sudden, wisps of flames whipped around her as she jumped into the air, taking Hector with her. The force nearly dislocated his arm.

Hector looked behind him as the side of the building fell towards them, picking up speed.

"I don't think we're going to make it," Hector said to her calmly as if this happened everyday to him.

She grunted softly. Hector's eyes widened in surprise. Two glowing wings made of flames emerged from her back. Each flap brought about embers that showered the ground.

She landed close to Lyn and Eliwood. She turned around and was about to take off when Eliwood spoke to her.

"Hey, thanks, you know, for saving this sorry twit."

She didn't even glance back at him. "You should get out of here."

She stepped forward to take off when a voice stopped her.

"Oi! Wait!" She turned around at the command.

Lyn and the others looked up to see the boy they bumped into earlier racing towards them.

He looked up sharply at them. "You here again?! Didn't I tell you not to come here and cause trouble?"

"We didn't do anything!" Hector replied just as heatedly.

"I don't believe this," the boy said exasperatedly. "I suppose that you have nothing to do with the weird door that I keep seeing at the end of this street every time I run into you guys?"

"Actually, we are connected in that respect," Eliwood said as politely as possible. He didn't want to have to fight if he could avoid it.

The boy sighed. "You guys should get out while you can then. We can handle things here." From his back, two black feathery wings emerged through the trench coat. He took off to the sky with the girl close behind him.

The three lords, though wanting to find out more, decided that it was probably best if they headed out. They quickly headed for the door. They had their own mission after all.

The door at the end of the street led them back to the same room they had been in twice before, fighting the forms of Mimir and Memoria. The next one was most likely to be Methuselah then.

"Greetings young ones, I'm glad that you have made it this far," Methuselah greeted casually.

"Your future worlds seem weird. Why were there two anyway?" Eliwood asked suspiciously.

He smiled genially at them. "Because the future is never set out in stone. Even if it did, stones do change; from igneous, to sedimentary, and to metamorphic."

"What are you talking about old man?" Hector asked with a pained expression on his face.

Methuselah sighed. "The two futures you see were what can happen to the world where we come from. Of course, those aren't the only futures. There are infinite variables that will cause infinite futures. We can only hope for the best and work towards it."

"Enough talk," Lyn said to him with her sword drawn. "If you have something to say, the only thing I'll listen to is if it regards Mark."

"You still wish to fight?" Methuselah asked curiously. He smiled again. "I suppose that I have a wager against you."

"What is it?" Hector asked, always eager for a fight.

"If you should be able to defeat me, then I'll tell you where you can find Mark. If I should win, then you will promise that you won't look for Mark."

"I don't know about this guys," Eliwood said cautiously. "I want to find Mark, but if we lose, we have to give up finding him."

"We won't lose," Lyn said heatedly. "There's only one way to make me lose, and if that happens, by then I won't be able to search for Mark anyway."

"Well said," Methuselah replied. He waved his hands and roses sprouted from the ground causing cracks in the floor.

The roses wavered slightly. Then without warning, thorny vines whipped out and lashed at them. The three lords struggled to get through.

"I don't know if this calls for a hero or a gardener," Hector said as he hacked through another vine.

"Funny how some situations make the lowest worker be more valued than the highest lords," Eliwood said wryly.

Lyn wasn't saying anything. She just dove through the vines. While they were fast, she was faster.

When she got close to Methuselah, she tried to strike at him. Her sword just went through him.

"I'm sorry Ms. Lyn. If you think that I shall be defeated that easily, then you have another thing coming. My brothers were holding back, I shall not."

Lyn's eyes widened for a moment before she was sent airborne by a vine. Eliwood and Hector looked up to see her land hard on the ground and bounced twice before she laid still.

"Cover for me," Eliwood said and Hector nodded.

Eliwood made his way over to her. She was still alive, but she couldn't move, it would risk tearing the wound even more. Her blue Sacaen dress was stained by blood from her abdomen.

"Only a flesh wound," Lyn said weakly.

"Nonsense," Eliwood said as he took out a vulnerary. "Don't move too much. You might have some internal damage."

"You two want to hurry it up?" Hector asked as the vines closed in around them.

"I'm sure you can handle it," Eliwood called back confidently without looking up.

"I'm not so sure buddy," Hector called back.

Lyn was getting fed up. It was one thing for Mark to get taken; it was another when someone was keeping her from seeing him. Everything was just building up on her.

"Find its weak point then!" she screamed at Hector while trying to get up.

Eliwood pushed her back down. "He'll do just fine Lyn. How would Mark feel if you were hurt trying to find him?"

Lyn froze. She did not need Mark getting worried about her like last time. She shuddered. Before then, she hadn't even thought of using chicken soup like that. One thing still bugged her though.

"Why are we having a casual conversation like nothing's going on?"

"I dunno," Eliwood shrugged.

Hector meanwhile was having his work cut out for him. Not in the literal sense because he was doing the cutting. Lyn said look for the weakness, but what was it? And another thing, what did she think he has been doing? Haven't she been watching?

Hector shook his head. He looked around again. The vines, the bulbs, the thorns…wait! The bulbs. Could it be? The bulbs don't look like they have any significance in the battle. They were just laying there. Could it be that simple?

Hector moved to slash at the vines. As soon as they moved into a defensive position, Hector lunged to the other side and maneuvered around them. The bulb was sitting helplessly in front of him. Hector smirked as he raised his ax.

Methuselah looked up. His eyes widened in horror. "NO! NOT THAT ONE!"

It was too late. Hector brought down his ax and cleanly sliced the bulb in half. The bulb shimmered for a while before fading away to glitters. He looked over to his friends. "One down, and several more to go," he said triumphantly.

The other bulbs lost their colors and started wilting. Hector looked around confused. "Was that supposed to happen?"

Methuselah looked around the room as all of the plants faded away. "Look at what you've done!" he shouted at Hector.

Eliwood helped Lyn up. Her wounds weren't that deep, but she'll have to take it easy on the physical labors for a while. He nearly dropped her when the entire room gave a shudder.

"Weren't we supposed to defeat you?" Hector asked as he tried to keep his balance.

"Yes, but you weren't suppose to destroy the foundations of the entire structure."

"How was I suppose to know?!"

Methuselah chose not to answer. He didn't seem to be affected as much by the tremors. He looked around as the walls, ceiling, and ground started sprouting cracks. The ground shattered and everyone was plunged into darkness.

After an unknown amount of time has passed

Hector blearily opened his eyes and saw what he saw with his eyes closed, complete darkness. "YO! ELIWOOD! LYN! ARE YOU HERE?!"

He felt someone slap him upside the head hard. There was only one person who could do that. "HIYA LYN! SO WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?!"

He felt another slap. "Quit talking so loud," Lyn said. "We're right next to you; we don't need to have our eardrums blown out."

There was a flash of blue, and the room was illuminated. They looked to the source and found Methuselah holding a small blue flame in his hand.

"This is quite a conundrum," he replied.

"No sh-" Hector started to reply when Lyn cut him off.

"Aaanyways, what are you doing?" Lyn asked. "How did we get here?"

"I'm lighting a fire so that you can see out of here. We are here because he," Methuselah shot Hector a dirty look, "Decided to destroy the foundation of the room above us, causing us to be sent down here."

Methuselah stood up and started walking along the edge of the room. "It seems like this will be the only way," he murmured. He stood up to Lyn and the others. "I'm going to create an opening in the wall. Run as fast as you can to the exit while I try to buy you some time." He touched Lyn's forehead. "You'll find Mark here. I dare say that you probably have more use of him than I will."

Lyn was about to say something when Methuselah placed his hand on the wall and created a large tunnel. It was big enough to run through without any problem, even for Hector. The creation of the tunnel though, cause the entire structure to become unstable even more so and it started to collapse.

"Go!" he shouted at them.

Lyn didn't move. She stared at him incredulously. "Aren't you coming with us?" When he shook his head she continued. "You be buried if you stay here!" He only nodded with a grim smile.

"Enough of this!" Hector shouted as he hoisted Lyn above his shoulder and started running. He ignored her protests to put her down. "Yo! Eliwood! Are you coming or am I going to have to carry you as well?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he said as he looked back at Methuselah one last time who nodded for him to continue.

"Good, because I don't think I can carry the two of you."

The three ran from the collapsing room. They headed as quickly as they can for the exit. Three Pegasus Knights, Florina and her sister, were waiting on standby. As soon as they saw the falling figures, they took flight.

As soon as Hector saw them, he chucked Lyn at Florina who caught her with a scream. Farina got Hector and Fiora got Eliwood. They all got their passengers safely to the ground while other fliers came up to get the magic users.

While still inside the pyramid, Methuselah and his other selves accepted their fate.

"I suppose that this is for the best," Mimir stated.

"Indeed," agreed Memoria, though he sounded slightly bitter.

"I understand," Methuselah said to Memoria. "We all had so many plans. So many things to talk to Mark and to train and test him in."

"But they were all for naught," Said Mimir.

"Everything fell apart as soon as he entered into the equation," Memoria said fondly.

"All of our knowledge and plans," Methuselah shook his head. "They amounted to nothing compared to that one boy's heart."

The rest of the room, and pyramid, collapsed, taking the three spirits with them. From the outside, the pyramid crashed into the ground, kicking up sand. It was buried, never to be found again.

Everyone landed on the ground, quite close to the ship. Everyone was rushing out to make sure that they were okay. It seemed that the three lords were inside for less than ten minutes. Wow, time sure passes slowly when you're being threatened with life or death situations.

They heard the wind howling around them suddenly and everyone turned to face a sandstorm brewing right in front of them. When the sandstorm faded, they saw Marius, Tamara, and Taran.

**There are some sad news that come with the end of the chapter. I will probably not be able to write as much since, as mentioned above, school is starting. However, there is a chance that Lady Inspiratia will grace me with her presence. I might write and upload faster... but will almost definitely not.**

**Also, this story is coming to an end. Only a few more chapters to go. Then, I will go back every once in while and re-edit.**


	24. Chapter 22: The Prophecy

**Here it is, the next chapter. Unfortunately, I have some rather distressing news that come with this chapter. This will be the last chapter for quite a while. I'll try to update as soon as I can, but unless some fountain, or geyser, of inspiration erupts in my mind, it'll be a while for the next chapter. By Christmas at the latest, though I'll try all that I can to update sooner. Without further ado... oh and I know that there are some things wrong with this, but please bear with me. **

Chapter 22: The Prophecy

The three stared at them. They stared back. No one made a move. A tense silence filled the dry desert air. Marius made the first move.

"So, I suppose that Methuselah and his brethrens are no longer with us. Pity."

"Yes, they were rather fun to converse with," Taran said looking slightly downward.

"I dunno. It was confusing for me to talk to them," Tamara said while clutching her head like she had a headache. "The answer's within you, the answer's within you. If I knew the answer I wouldn't have asked YOU!!!" she screamed in the general direction of the fallen pyramid.

"Control yourself," Taran reprimanded.

"Yes," Marius said, taking no notice. "While it is a setback that we have lost them, the plan still remains intact."

"What are you talking about?" Hector asked.

"Did you really think that we just want to fight you for no reason?" Taran scoffed. "Such foolish and naïve children."

"We are acting accordingly with the prophecy," Marius said, still looking at them

Taran turned to face him quickly. "You're telling them?!"

"Yes. If they know, then perhaps they will let us proceed peacefully."

"Don't count on it," Tamara, Taran, and Lyn chorused at once. When they noticed this, they glared at each other. One would think that Lyn would be overcome by their combined glares, but she was holding her own pretty good.

"Moving on," Marius said as he eyes glazed over.

"Wait!" Tamara shouted. Marius snapped out of his daze and looked at her. "I want to tell them." Marius looked at her strangely for a moment before nodding and giving his consent.

Tamara smiled happily and her eyes glazed over. She spoke softly:

_**He will be born with the scent of Seven Darkness**_

_**His birth will mark the beginning of the end**_

_**For Rebirth is after Destruction's end**_

_**And shall he leave, twice on the same path to the Dark**_

_**With Key in hand, he stands affront the Door**_

_**With Lock in sight, he pulls his Ring**_

_**For then the Door will start to sing**_

_**And rise to the world, the Tides of Dark**_

_**Fire shall grow upon ice**_

_**And the world shall dim its light**_

_**The waters shall turn red as if it were blood**_

_**But do not lose the scent of the light**_

_**Scars unhealed shall open**_

_**Helpless, he shall extend a hand for help**_

_**Only to cover the lands he loves so much in darkness**_

_**But do not lose sight of the light**_

_**The door to Heaven will reveal itself**_

_**But what awaits is a nightmarish Hell**_

_**The doors shall sing a Song of Storm and Fire**_

_**But do not drown out the voice of the light**_

_**Darkness shall enter every soul**_

_**The dark glory shall permeate every cell**_

_**The taste of death on every tongue**_

_**But do not forget the sweetness of the light**_

_**Clutched around his hands**_

_**Ice numbs his heart**_

_**The dark is cold, oh so cold**_

_**But do not shy from the warmth of the light**_

_**When his soul is saved, he shall journey to the lands where he's needed**_

_**A new age of prosperity shall awaken**_

_**From where he left will be him to take up what was left behind**_

_**Harmony shall coexist once more with Chaos, before the balance is touched again**_

"…Wow…" everyone said at once.

"She's always had that good memory and creepy voice," Marius said proudly.

Tamara shook her head slightly and yawned, remembering to cover her mouth and said, "'scuse me."

"That is what we are trying to work towards," Taran stated simply. "A period of darkness preludes to the on coming age of light."

"Do you realize what those changes, no matter how short, will do to the ecosystem?!" Canas shouted suddenly.

"Oh right, you're still here," Marius said, noticing the army for apparently the first time. "We really do need to move on so…" He waved his hand and a transparent barrier separated the three lords from the rest of the army. "Now we will kindly take back what is Mark's."

The lords readied their weapons as their opponents readied themselves. Marius took out his ancient sword as the two girls unfolded two more wings from their backs, giving them a total of four each.

They all judged each other.

Lyn took a step forward. "Redhead's mine," she told her companions, despite the fact that her hair was not that close to red, but then again…anyways. They nodded and she was off.

"His scent comes from the blue haired one," Taran told Marius. They were ignoring Lyn and Tamara. He nodded and faced off against Hector. That left Taran to Eliwood.

"Would you tell me something I've been wondering?" Eliwood asked as they circled each other.

"Maybe," came her curt reply.

"I remember vaguely that one of our opponents, I suppose one of your subordinates, mentioned something about how the waters shall run red."

"It's not exactly rare knowledge. In fact, it's pretty common. I don't know anyone beside infants not knowing it. That line is the most famous though."

"I see, so he was reciting something that he believed in for his last breathes instead of trying to scare us spit less."

"Well, he may have. Grepsle always was the odd one."

"You know, if this had been different circumstances, we could have had a very nice conversation."

"Alas, we are needed to be locked in combat. Ready yourself."

"I've been ready. Where were you?"

Meanwhile, Lyn was busy swiping at Tamara with her sword. It was amazing that Tamara was dodging Lyn and retaliating on her own. Her attacks were avoided by Lyn in turn and retaliated, thus going on in a circle.

Both had amazing maneuverability. The sand terrain had a negative impact on Lyn's performance, but she seemed evenly matched with Tamara. Tamara in turn had four wings and couldn't take high into the air, too much turbulence and cold extremities. She stayed low to the ground to fight with physical attacks.

"So after you kill me, what are you going to do?" Tamara asked Lyn mockingly.

"I'll get Mark back. What else did you think?" came her heated reply.

"Oh? And here I was thinking that you actually used your head. Then again, you never did use your head so I guess that it's too much for me to hope for now."

"What are you talking about?"

"A lot of things. Think back for a second. Or two. I'll give you at least that much."

"Gee thanks," Lyn muttered sarcastically.

"Don't mention it. Anyways, we always seemed to be ahead of you guys no matter what. Tricking you into thinking that Mark died. _Brainwashing_ him. Leading you to Arcadia where we got back the ring. Haven't you ever wonder where we got all of that information? Simply, Mark told us. Or rather, he planned everything out for us."

"Do you really expect me to believe that?"

"No. I expect you to get angry and continue fighting me and try to kill me though it won't do you any good."

Lyn rushed at her as she attempted another futile attack. She was so focused that she didn't hear Tamara muttering, "You should have killed me when you had the chance."

Hector looked at the person in front of him. Mark's brother drew his sword. It was still the nicked blade. Hector drew his own ax. It would be slower, so he would need to focus more on overpowering his opponent.

"Can I ask you something?" Hector asked.

"I believe you already have, but go ahead anyway," he said as he twirled his blade expertly.

"What's your name really?" Hector asked, completely serious.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" He nearly dropped his sword in surprise.

"Well, I heard from Violet that you were supposed to be called Martin."

"Martin? Oh right. You can call me whatever you want. It matters not. I wasn't really listening as I was hurrying to find Mark. Why did you want to know anyway?"

"Oh that. I wanted to know what to put on your tombstone. I'll make sure it says Martin now!" Hector charged forward with his ax raised.

Martin's blade locked with Hector's ax. They both stood there, struggling to gain footing in the loose sand. Hector's heavier constitution made him harder to move. However, Martin's lighter frame makes it easier for him to go with quick attacks. So why was he drawing it out instead of moving away?

Hector soon found out as the dagger on his pouch started glowing eerily blue. Martin's eyes narrowed slightly before widening. His smirk was maniacal.

Martin quickly stepped back, causing Hector to nearly lose his footing. The only reason that Hector wasn't on his way to the next world was that he swung his ax around. This caused Martin to step back further, and out of attack range for both of them, as well as using the momentum to carry him back to his feet.

Martin reached into his belt pocket. He pulled out a small ring, decorated with only a small black gem. Hector tensed. Rings can be dangerous and can turn the tide of a battle. He's seen the powers of Mark's and Ninian and Nil's rings more than often.

"I'm using this now," Marin whispered as he put the ring on his index finger. He turned it around his finger three times. The moon was covered in clouds. Darkness surrounded them all. Aside from Hector and Martin, the others didn't care that much. They were much too engrossed in their battles to notice that they can no longer see.

By the time the moon came back out, Martin had taken on a new appearance. His brown cloak was now stained a dark red in areas that complimented the brown. His golden eyes now had slit pupils. His ears were pointed and two fangs protruded down from his mouth.

Hector couldn't see what was happening next. One moment Martin was several feet in front of him, the next moment the cloak around Martin was in his view as he felt Martin gliding over him. His body twisted in impossible curves around his arms, waist, neck, himself.

When Hector could see again, Martin was in front of him in his regular brown cloak and all of the changes had reverted back. Hector's eyes widened. In Martin's hands was Mark's dagger. He was carefully examining it. He pocketed it.

Without even thinking, Hector lunged forward and tackled Martin to the ground. They rolled around a little until Hector was on top in a mount position. Hector was hurriedly trying to find the dagger.

Martin wasn't going to give it up. Not when it was so important. While Hector was trying to search him, he trapped Hector's right leg and arm. He arched his hip and Hector was flung off of him.

Hector wasn't a stranger to ground fighting. He didn't let go of Martin and so dragged him along. Martin was now on top, but Hector quickly put him into a guard. From this position, even if Martin can attack, Hector can defend and still maintain control over Martin's movements.

Unfortunately for him, Martin was ready for this. True that he wasn't the best at ground fighting, mostly because of his small stature like his brother and that he was more attune with quick blitzes, he still studied ground fighting to an extent incase such an event happened. He placed both his palms on Hector's solar plexus with his elbows at Hector's inner thighs. He pushed down and out hard.

The result was Hector gasping out in shock and pain and letting go of the guard. Martin quickly jumped out of range. Why bother continue when the objective of the mission was already complete?

Tamara and Tarin looked to see Martin was just about finished with Hector. This was good. Simultaneously, both of them charged with their respective black and white auras.

"Paradise Lost!" They simultaneously screamed.

They weren't aiming for their respective opponents though. Tamara's blast hit Eliwood and Tarin's Lyn.

Both lords were taken by surprise and succumbed to the blast at once.

At the same time, Hector was getting up from his bout with Martin. Martin quickly stepped before him. He placed one hand on Hector's head, partially covering his eyes.

"Sleep…and forget," was the last thing Hector heard before losing conscious.

…

…

…

"… are you going to wake up now?"

Hector groaned. The light was blinding and giving him a headache. He rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.

"FINE! BE THAT WAY!" the voice screamed. Hector felt a strong kick that knocked him completely off the bed.

He staggered up to see Violet standing there with an impatient look on her face. He looked groggily around to see that he was in a room at the inn. Eliwood was also in there and he pulled his shirt over his heavily bandaged torso.

Hector looked down to see that he had some bandages on him as well, though not as much as Eliwood.

"Lyn is already awake and making plans while you two are here dozing off like coffee deprived rats!"

"You couldn't think of a better analogy?" Eliwood asked as he girded his sword.

"Yeah well I'm coffee deprived at the moment. It wasn't easy treating your wounds."

Hector shook his head. Why couldn't he have normal people around him? He got up and quickly changed, oblivious to the Violet that suddenly screamed and ran downstairs. After they were changed, Eliwood and Hector both headed downstairs.

Lyn was already there and was pouring over slips of paper.

"What are you looking at Lyn?" Eliwood asked as they approached.

"Glad to see you're finally up. I think I have a link on where Mark is," Lyn replied without looking up.

"… And you found this how?"

Lyn smirked. "The stupid prophecy they mentioned. It said something about a door. What's another word for door?"

"Gate?" Hector asked intelligently.

Eliwood was turning the information around in his head. "But what does that- OH! I see. Mark is at the Dragon's Gate."

"Exactly."

"…"

"…"

"Lyn," Eliwood began.

"This is a stupid idea," Hector finished.

Lyn looked up sharply at them.

"Besides that we have no way to get to Valor," Eliwood stated.

"Also, I'm starting to think that this is all a wild goose chase. Everywhere we've been, it's been a trap and they throw it in our face that Mark help set it up."

"But!"

"You have to see the connection between there Lyn. Even you can't close your eyes to this."

"But Mark is our friend."

"We're not saying otherwise. But we really think that we should wait and carefully plan out what we're going to do."

"Wow Hector, that was pretty smart."

"I know! Say what?!"

"Doesn't this mean anything to you?!"

"Doesn't what mean anything to us?"

"He's our friend!"

"You've said that. But that does not change the fact that Mark may indeed be helping them."

"They could be just lying!"

"Lyn! You're acting too rashly!"

"And you two aren't acting at all! This calls for action, not sitting back and think!"

Lyn stood out of her chair and rushed out the door, leaving behind a bewildered Hector and Eliwood.

"You hear that?! We try to talk some sense into her, and she blows up at us!" Hector shouted indignantly.

"She feels that she spent too much time thinking and not enough doing all night," Violet said softly as she came down.

"That still doesn't mean that she should yell at us for trying to help."

"No, you're right. But… isn't it Mark who usually does the thinking. Lyn's been doing so for a while. She's not use to it. The pressure's probably just getting to her."

"But why is she acting like this now? She's taken up Mark's thinking role ever since he disappeared," Eliwood wondered.

"The ring," Hector said quietly.

"Eh?"

"Lyn doesn't have the ring anymore. What if that ring helps in their thinking?"

"I don't think that's it Hector."

"But what if it is?"

"Then…," Violet thought long and hard. "You guys are screwed. They have a master tactician and some impending doom machine."

"And we… have an army in disarray," Hector finished lamely as he looked around to see the army.

The army was having the same problem as the lords. Some still have their unyielding faith in Mark. Others are less dedicated; some were just downright disbelieving.

Eventually though, order rose above all of them. The answer was simple and pacified everyone… mostly. Mark still lay at the crux of all the problems. They remove Mark from the equation, and everything should turn back to normal. The question arises as to how to remove him. If they can peacefully persuade him, then they will do so. If it comes to dealing blows, then he leaves them no choice.

Now they just have to find Lyn. The girl can sure make it difficult for someone to find her. Everyone went out to search for her. They searched everywhere. The expression "Leave no leaf or stone unturned" now had a new meaning. Some were actually considering doing just that.

Violet wandered off. She knew she had to find Lyn. How she knew, she'll never know. She just had… a gut feeling that Lyn was out there somewhere. Wherever out there was.

By chance, or by fate, she was led to a serene field. "Okay, that was weird." It was a bright place, though she felt an aura of darkness tainting it. She walked on to find Lyn huddled beneath a tree with her knees to her chest.

"…I'm… sor-ry Mark," Lyn sobbed gently.

"I thought I would find you here," Violet said as she walked up there. '_Okay, so I didn't really know where I was going, but she doesn't have to know that._'

"I've failed everyone… especially Mark."

"Yep! You failed everyone alright. Did I mention that it was a horrible, humiliation, and cruel failure? I mean, come on, it couldn't really be any worse! You are the lowest of the low. Even lower than a tick hugging a gopher's belly."

Lyn visibly tensed. She narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"And what about poor pitiful Mark? He had his hopes set on you, and in the end, he couldn't depend on you after all. Adds to the list of things to not be proud for doesn't it Lyn. Pride and honor of a Sacae indeed. What pride? What honor? They are nothing to you. Poor Lyn. Lived only to be pitied."

Lyn lunged at Violet from her position. Both of them were tackled to the ground and they started wrestling. Lyn finally managed to overpower Violet and pinned her to the ground.

"Never talk about my heritage," Lyn growled menacingly. Her words echoed those of someone she knew. "And another thing. I don't remember choosing my path to be pitied."

The both of them were breathing hard after their short bout. Lyn rolled off of Violet and lay down beside her.

"Feel better?" Violet asked.

Lyn nodded slightly without smiling. "How did you know?"

Violet suddenly stood up, all fatigue forgotten. "Come on! We better head back. The others have a plan to get to Valor."

Lyn stood up as well. "Yeah. I have some apologizing to do as well."

They made their way back to the inn where everyone was waiting. Lyn apologized to Hector and Eliwood for shouting at them and they apologized for not thinking about her feelings. After all was forgiven, they discussed what they were going to do next.

"So you've decided that we will go to find Mark."

"Yes Lyn, we will go and find Mark. It'll depend on the situation to judge what we do next. If he turns out to be our enemy, we'll have no choice but to fight."

"Fine… but only if."

"So how are we going to get there?"

"Just leave that to me!" Violet exclaimed. "Get everything ready and meet me at the statue of the half naked guy. I've got a plan!"

Violet hurriedly left the room and everyone started packing. They spent no more than twenty minutes to pack and left the inn.

Violet was waiting for them at the entrance as promised.

"Got everything? Good. Let's head down to the lowest level. You've all been here before and I'm relying on you to get down to the chamber with the seal in it."

"Why do we need to go there?"

"Just because. Now do you want my help or don't you?"

They all took a deep breath and headed down to the darkness. All of the traps were already set off during their last trip down here.

"I read something interesting while you guys were off on that ship. There was an article about an item that might help us and it was in the museum. So thinking that it could come in handy, I went and got for you."

"You stole it?!" Lyn asked outraged.

"I didn't steal it! Think of it as… borrowing without permission. I was planning to give it back after I was done studying it."

"How did you get it out anyway?" Eliwood asked.

"Oh yeah. I've been meaning to return these." She handed Matthew and Legault's lock picks back. They were gob smacked that she managed to steal those from them.

At the seal chamber, Violet stepped forward.

"Hold on guys, I need to do something here." She took out a strange item that resembled a torch. She opened the door and slid her thumb along the shaft and light came out one end.

"Creepy," she said as she peered into the room. The lords peered in after her. Darkness there and nothing more.

"Oh there's more alright," she muttered as she took something from her pocket. "Creeping me out is one thing, keeping me from getting to Martin is another!"

"Oh yeah, he said that he wasn't really listening when you were giving his name," Hector said helpfully.

With a battle cry, Violet flicked open the shiny object and a flame leapt out of it. She held it up to the strange shaft she was carrying and lit the top on fire, making it resemble a torch even more so.

"Why did she feel the need to do that?" Eliwood asked his friends. They simply shrugged.

Violet led them inside. She went to the walls and carefully lit some small torches found there.

The room, they saw, was very big. It could hold all of them easy. There was a large and intricate seal on the ground with an alter on the far end of the room. Violet walked forward all the way to the end. She pulled another item out of her bag.

The object looked half frozen. Icicles hung from some of its edges. The item vaguely resembled a bird. Vaguely being the key word. She sat it down on the alter and the seal started glowing.

"Everybody, get on the seal!"

Everybody did so. They waited. And waited. And waited.

"Is this supposed to happen?" Hector asked skeptically.

"No!" Violet whined. "What went wrong? I did everything I was supposed too!"

She took out her book and flipped through it. Her face fell as she read and reread a paragraph.

"Oops! Looks like I messed up!"

The entire army face faulted.

"That wasn't helpful!" Lyn shouted.

"Don't worry, I can fix this."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Only fools are positive," Hector said.

"Are you sure?" she asked back.

"I'm positive…" Hector answered stupidly.

Everyone got a chuckle out of that.

"Arrg! I should have known!"

Violet lined everyone up around the rim of the seal. She had Hector and several other guys push the stone alter to the exact center. She then explained what she was going to do.

"Okay guys, I'm going to perform a ritual. Don't worry, it's perfectly safe. Just don't try this at home kids."

"Just what are you going to do?" Lyn asked warily.

"From what I can tell, the legend stated that the ice around the bird isn't supposed to be there. The ice is from the lower levels of Niflheim. It can only be burned by something called a Soulfire."

"I don't like the sound of that," Eliwood said cautiously.

Violet nodded. "Indeed. If too much of it is lost, you will die. But that's not the issue here. Calling on Soulfire is relatively easy. I just hope that we have enough to get you to where you need to go."

"I'll give it my all then," Lyn said confidently.

"I'm glad you feel this way, but I'll make sure to leave you enough to live and make more. You can't comfort, or confront, Mark if you aren't alive."

Like Violet said, the extraction process was quite easy. They felt really warm and tingly as they saw a flame float out of them. Some were bigger, some were brighter, but there was little consistent pattern to them.

The fires converged above the bird statue. It writhed and began to take form. Before long, a beautiful fiery bird was hovering before them.

It looked at all of them and shook its head.

"Uh-oh…" Violet muttered.

"What? I don't like uh-ohs!" Hector said worriedly.

"We don't have enough to transport all of you to Valor."

The group looked downcast.

Violet looked back up to the bird. "I don't really have a reason to go with them. If you don't have to take me, will you have enough to take them?"

The bird looked over them again. It shook its head.

"Still not enough…"

"We don't really need to head to Valor guys," Hector said suddenly.

Everyone turned to face him.

"We just need to get somewhere where we can get to Valor."

"Of course! The Captain told me that they were planning to stay in Tortuga for a while during this time," Dart said.

"Well, do you have enough to take them to Tortuga?"

The bird nodded. It descended into the statue and the ice started to burn away. It didn't melt like ice would normally. The ice furled and unfurled as the flames licked them off.

The seal glowed menacingly before all vision was blinded by a white light.

Only Violet was left there. She smiled softly. "I hope you all achieve your goals," she whispered. "And I hope you get your punishment Martin!" With that, she left the chamber and headed for her familiar inn.

In Tortuga

Everyone looked around them. Tortuga looked… somewhat the same. The air was heavier though. Like the sign that a big storm was coming. There was little sound outside the pirates that were still talking. Even worse, the sky was darkening by clouds quickly. The calm before a storm...

**And there it is. I know it seems rushed and that was because it was. I'm not getting any inspiration here. Oh well, too much school work I guess. Anyway, if you noticed anything (plotlines, plot holes, grammatical errors) please direct them to me so that I can fix this later. Like I said above, the latest that the next chapter will be updated will be Christmas, no later.**

** Also, this is against my policy, as I don't like to start on another story while there's already one in progress, but I'll be puting up another one. I'm just really bored that I don't have time to write but time to update and I wrote some chapters over the summer. Don't worry. This story will take priority in writing simply because I started this one first.  
**


	25. Chapter 23: The Seven Sins

**Here's the next chapter, just as promised and before Christmas. Not really much else to say... except... enjoy! Hopefully.**

Chapter 23: Seven Deadly Sins

"I'll go get the captain. You guys go get the supplies," Dart said as he darted off.

"You heard him!" Hector shouted to the army. Everyone hurried to find supplies that they may need. Mark wasn't here this time and even worse, he was against them. This did not bode well for them.

Everyone took a moment to gather themselves. This is most likely the most dangerous mission they have headed into or will ever. Everyone reflected back on things they have done or want to do. Some things can be assuaged for the moment, as Serra was running around trying to kiss whoever looked like a handsome male in her eyes and Lucius was praying for everyone.

The proceedings allowed everyone to calm down somewhat slightly though. They focused more on their task at hand rather than the imposing forces ahead of them.

Lyn focused on what she'll have to do. 'If it comes down to it, I'll have to end it. Not any of the others… me. It's the least I can do as Mark's friend.'

Hector, Eliwood, and the rest of the army had similar thoughts as well. Lyn must be the one to do it… if it came down to it.

Dart quickly came back and brought them to Captain Fargus.

"Harharhar! What's that I hear that you be needin' to get ter Dread Isle?!" he shouted at them and took a long swig from his glass of… something with a really high alcoholic content…

"Yes," Lyn said simply.

"Mooncalves and idiots," Fargus muttered. "Just what I needed."

"What was that?!" Hector bit through gritted teeth.

Fargus narrowed his eyes at them. "Just look outside you whelps. The sky is has been darkening for a while now. A storm is surely going to happen."

"Does that mean that you won't take us?" Lyn asked in an emotionless manner.

"And you be needing to get to it soon?" Fargus asked. His interests have definitely been raised. This girl was the one that wanted nothing to do with pirates of any sort at first and now when she needs to, she seemed willing whether or not he was going to take them.

"Does it really matter?"

"Hmm… And if I say I won't be taking ye?"

"I see. Then I have no choice but to rent a row boat and cross there myself," Lyn said with an even voice.

Fargus could tell that she was challenging him though. What did she have to gain by doing this? A passage to Valor? She seemed to be the type to lay down arms if pushed in order to get to her objectives… so why?

"It seems that he won't be taking us. Too bad. Eliwood, Hector, I'm off to find another route to Valor," Lyn said calmly as she walked out.

"Do you think she's still kind of off about having to work with pirates?" Hector whispered to Eliwood who shrugged.

Fargus stood up and headed out. "I'll be off. Not interested in traveling right now."

"I see Lyn was right then. Thank you for your time Fargus," Eliwood said as he and Hector also headed out.

"What the-!" Fargus started as he saw the scene in front of him.

Lyn was fighting a horde of pirates. Even worse, they were part of Fargus' crew. This being said, Fargus, Eliwood, and Hector rushed in to stop the fighting. They had to because the other pirates were cheering them on and placing bets.

Lyn ducked down was the blunt side of an ax swung over her. She flipped backwards and landed neatly on another pirate's shoulders. She quickly jumped off and rolled out of the way as more axes came down.

By then, Fargus and Lyn's friends have caught up and were pulling the pirates apart. Well, Fargus and Hector anyways. Eliwood was trying to get Lyn out of the commotion. He wasn't much good for prying apart buff pirates. They would most likely squish him like a bug on a boot… which they were pretty close to doing as they were jostling around.

Fargus was getting fed up so he took out his Killer Ax and was swinging it around like the berserker he is. Needless to say, many of the pirates quickly scattered as Fargus was shouting like a maniac, wielding a Killer Ax, and screaming expletives and language that little children should not hear.

Even after all of the pirates started to disperse, he was still pissed off and it took the combined effort of Lyn, Eliwood, and Hector to take him down. In the end, thanks to some ingenious plan by Lyn, Fargus ended upside-down from a tree branch tied from the neck down… or up in this case… basically from his neck to his feet in rope, twine, and any other rope-like material they could find. Yes, it took that much to stop him.

"Okay, I've calmed down enough so let me loose or I'll feed your gizzards to the gulls!"

"Temper, temper," Hector chided.

"And I'm starting with you first!"

"We're letting you down now, okay?" Lyn said as she slashed the ropes.

Fargus landed on his feet and dusted off his coat.

"Now then, someone mind telling me why this commotion started."

"It was their fault," Lyn said acidly.

"Okay, we'll admit that we may have gone overboard, but you should have heard what she planned to do captain!" A pirate shouted out.

"So what was she planning to do?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"She said that she was planning on taking that row boat and rowing to Valor!"

"I said that I was planning on taking that row boat and rowing to Valor!"

Lyn and the pirates said simultaneously and pointed at a rickety rowboat tied by a flimsy rope to the harbor. The thing looked as if it was struggling to stay afloat and upon closer inspection, it had several leaks in the hull.

"I said that I was going to Valor by myself if needed," Lyn said determinedly.

"Why don't you tell me the truth to why you're doing this Lyn," Fargus said. It wasn't a question, it was a command.

"I've told you already. If you won't take me, and no one else will either, then I'll just have to go myself. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a rowboat that needs rowing."

"Just hold on a moment Lyn," Fargus told her. She stopped to listen to hear what he was going to say. He turned from her and faced his crew. "So what do you think?"

"She's got a lot of gumption," a pirate muttered.

"She's determined."

"She's crazy!"

"She's stupid!"

"And regarding her passage?" Fargus asked.

The crew started muttering among themselves. Eventually, one pirate spoke up. "You are the captain, Captain. You command and we follow."

"But are you willing to ship these mooncalves to Valor in a storm?" He asked them seriously.

"We repeat. You lead, we follow," the pirate answered. "Dart, you take up the rear end."

"Geez, and here I thought you'd all forgotten about me."

"Well then, I suppose that it's settled! Gather your things. We leave at once!" Fargus shouted at the army.

From there, everything fell into place for the passage to Valor. Everyone already had everything ready and they headed towards the ship. As they shoved off, Lyn looked towards the ominous island that they were sailing to. What dangers awaited them once they landed? The only thing they knew was that the opponent was one of incomparable power. Even Nergal would have paled in comparison to the utter amount of destruction that Mark can bring on the world, given the right incentive.

Winds started whipping around the ship. Everyone, even the army, was called upon to do tasks to keep the ship afloat.

As they were struggling, Nino looked up at the sky. "LOOK!" she shouted and everyone did so.

The heavy black sheets of clouds had formed a giant cylinder hollow directly above Valor. They could see thin streams of lighting lace the clouds. The darkness leading up brought a sense and vision of destruction and ruin.

Out of nowhere, gusts of wind blew forth from Valor. The ship was tossed on the waves like nothing more than a mere toy.

Lyn heard a groan and creak from besides as she tried to stand up and regain her bearings.

"NO!" she heard Fargus shouted. "Quick, someone let loose the sails! If this keeps up, the main mast will splinter!"

"That can't be good!" Hector shouted.

"I'm on it!" Matthew shouted from the crow's nest. He pulled out two blades and jumped off the side of the crow's nest.

"What are you doing?!?!?!?!?!" Serra shrieked above the winds, which was quite a feat. Unfortunately, Erk was also right next to her and suffered again as usual.

Matthew took a deep breath and dug the swords into the sails and let gravity pull him down.

"I hope you're there to catch me Lord Hector!" He shouted as he came hurtling down towards the deck. Just as Hector registered what he said, Matthew was now on top of him and so was now trying to register the weight on top of him.

"Why'd you do that?!" Serra screamed at him.

"No, it's good! The masts are saved!" Fargus said back at them. "You up there, get down here the same way!" he shouted at the pirate who was still in the crow's nest.

"You got it Captain!" He jumped down as well, using his axes to slow the decent. Being more balanced on a ship, he landed easily even with his heavier constitution.

They all stared at the four gaping holes in the sail. The wind picked up again. It blew through the slits and an eerie song played. Everyone was mesmerized at the tune.

They were all shook out of it by a loud crack. "Captain! The rudder's gone!" The helmsman shouted to them.

A large wave crashed into the side of the ship and sent everyone sprawling.

Nils stood up and looked to the sky to see…

"GOODNESS, GRACIOUS! GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!!!" Merlinus screamed and let loose his girly shrill.

Nils got up and rushed to the side of the deck. It couldn't have been. His eyes must have been deceiving him… right?

He looked into the water. His eyes widened in shock. Hands pulled him back towards the safer areas of the deck.

"Don't lean over so much Nils," Ninian chastised him worriedly. "You could have fallen over."

Nils was in a state of shock and didn't comprehend what was going on behind him. "It can't be… it just can't…" he whispered though his words were lost to the winds. Nils had just seen a very familiar face before it plunged into the dark depths.

"Women and children to below decks! All able men, crew or not, help man the ship!" Fargus shouted at all of them.

Before anyone can move though, a humongous wave completely engulfed the ship. Everyone on board was plunged into the dark, cold void of oblivion.

…

…

…

Lyn was in a completely cold and desolate place, void of any life whatsoever. Does this include her? She tried opening her eyes but found that they were unwilling to follow her commands.

There was nothing that she felt. It was all numb. No scent. No taste. No sight. Everything was dull… no not everything. She heard voices… singing.

_Kire kagima saibastia _

_Kimeta i adora i amena i adesta idela _

_A'sorai a'dorai a'sorai yamasa idita dora_

Was it Mark's voice? No it wasn't. But it felt so similar though. It sang to the tune the winds were playing earlier on the ship… but this time, it offered her comfort.

Lulling to the darkness? Urging to awaken? Just what was it telling her? It didn't help that she didn't understand one word of it.

_'Just take it as a compliment Lyn. Just nod and smile. You don't have to understand,'_ Mark's voice spoke inside her head as she relived that memory. Lyn did so. Even if Mark became an enemy… the times they shared together would never be forgotten.

Lyn opened her eyes to see herself stranded on a beach. She looked around to see her fellow companions, including the pirates, also stranded on the beach. The ship was resting peacefully in the water.

"Can you stand Lyn?" an arm pulled her up.

"Yeah, sure," Lyn said as she continued to look around.

"Yo Lyn! We're all here and accounted for… why are you talking to yourself?"

"I'm not talking to myself. I'm talking to the one…" Lyn looked around. The person who helped her up was nowhere in sight. Lyn thought back. That person's voice… it was the voice that was singing earlier, kind of like Mark but not. Just what is with these mysterious happenings? A new world, though that shouldn't be much of a surprise considering the dragons, a group that took away Mark, though that was also somewhat natural when you're the top tactician, and a mysterious figure who sounds like Mark, and in Lyn's eyes probably look like him… that one there's nothing to really compare to…

Eliwood walked over, supporting Ninian while Hector was carrying Nils on his shoulders.

"Who were you talking to Lyn?" Eliwood asked again.

"… He was just right here…"

"I think you're getting waterlogged," Hector said smirking.

Lyn pouted. "Am not. By the way Nils, are you ok? You look out of it."

"… … I'm… fine…"

"You don't look fine at all," Eliwood answered back. "Perhaps you should stay here with the ship?"

"…No… I can go… I'm fine… really…"

"Nils… I really think that you should stay here," Ninian told him softly.

Nils shook his head. "Don't worry… just need some time to sort things out…"

"… Alright. Let's get going then guys," Eliwood told them.

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, which turns out to be right here

Where is here anyway?

"What should our forces do? What fortifications should we build?"

"Don't bother."

"What?!"

"In fact, recall all of your troops."

"My lady?! Why?!"

"I plan on taking them on myself."

"?!"

"Don't make that face. Anyways, there's something that I must settle with_her_."

"My lady…"

"So you should recall your troops. Besides, this is a losing battle anyways. Those fools just don't understand Mark's true intentions."

"… Lady Tamara, we will stand by you until the very end."

"?!... Didn't I just tell you to get the _shit_ake mushroom outta here?!"

"Lady Tamara, we have heard of the various powers of this group. I speak on the others' behalf that we wish to witness them deal this power."

"… Then would it be not better to be in the final chamber to see the final battle?"

"… My lady Tamara… you really need to stop reading those '…mangas?' and 'animay'."

"That's manga and anime!"

"Anyways, we're here to help you out!"

"… Fine. To our funerals then!"

"…"_sweat drops._

Just outside of that somewhere in the middle of a forest

"We must take caution when trekking through here," Lyn whispered back to her companions.

"Yeah, tell us something we don't know," Hector scowled back.

Lyn gave him an exasperated look. She was just about to take a step forward when she suddenly stopped. She held out her hand so that everyone else stopped as well.

The area was heavily dense with vegetation and trees to provide cover. However, since they were the ones taking the initiative, they were the ones at most risk of an ambush.

Lyn motioned to Matthew. He didn't quite understand her motion. She motioned again more urgently. Matthew dug through his pack and came out with… toilet paper?

Lyn smacked her head but took it anyway. She pulled back and launched the item into the bushes.

As soon as the roll left her hand, it was nearly struck with more than twenty one arrows, each hitting their mark. Though the arrows were full of energy when shot, they were shot in such a way that it force that impacted the target was very little. As the roll continued its arc, it was repeatedly shot by more arrows and by the time that it hit the ground, it looked less toilet paper than it did resemble a porcupine and pin cushion cross breed.

Lyn narrowed her eyes. Only one reason why they wasted so many arrows existed. They were testing them. 'This is an ambush.'

Immediately, Lyn stood up in full view, giving away her position. The entire group scattered. Luckily, they planned before hand and separated the army into several smaller groups. No more than five per group. This would allow them to scatter the enemies' forces quicker and allow more maneuverability.

'Something strange…' Lyn wondered. She looked around. They were well hidden, but Lyn could tell that they were all female warriors armed with bows and spears. 'Didn't Mark tell me a story about a tribe of women?'

_'There is a story, about a tribe full of women known as the Amazons. They are expert at spears and bows. Ambush is their favorite play. And… they leave no man alive… Or at least that's how the legend goes.'_

_'Huh, sucks to be you then Sain.'_

_'Why?'_

_'Because, you would see the girls of your dreams but then be subjected to tortures even beyond your imaginations.'_

_'Err… like what?'_

_'Like… like… like what Mark?'_

_'Well… I'm not really an expert on torture techniques, but I'll do my best. I hear that they would take bamboo splinters and drive them up your nails, or even worse, they would rip out your nails. They can cut your tongues and gouge out your eyes. For some guys… they would cut off their egg rolls."_

_'…Egg rolls?'_

_'… It's technically a food but this means that it cuts off your… manhood Sain…'_

_'Oh! Oh! … Ouch!'_

While they were wily and quick, the Amazons were quickly cut down, mostly because Lyn was getting pissed that they were taking so long. She grabbed a torch and set all the underbrush on fire. It didn't exactly burn like she wanted it to, but it did produced the desired effect. The smoke drove the Amazons out into the open where they fell like flies.

Lyn quickly pushed on without even a backward glance. She arrived at a temple deep in the jungle. It was old and in ruins. '_Just like how we saw it last time we were here…'_

A throne on the far side of the temple was made of simple stones fitted together in a tessellation. Lyn narrowed her eyes at the figure sitting on the throne.

Tamara unfolded her legs as she stood up to face Lyn. "Hello Lyn. I can't say that I'm surprised to see you here."

"Can it! You know where Mark is so just tell me already and we can skip the part where you get whooped."

"Oh my, such rashness. Surely Mark's taught you better than that," Tamara said as she took a step forward. She instantly disappeared and reappeared beside Lyn.

"After all, he used that taunt before, right?" She said in an eerie whisper as her fist connected hard with Lyn's solar plexus.

Lyn doubled over as she gasped for breath. Tamara looked up sharply as Hector and Eliwood entered into the temple with their weapons at ready.

She jumped backwards and landed just in front of the throne. The two lords ran in and towards Lyn to attend to her. They didn't notice a large portal behind Tamara as she started up a spell.

Lyn noticed it though. It didn't take long for her to get her breath back and notice what Tamara was doing.

Lyn didn't even notice herself giving a feral war cry and lunging straight at Tamara. Tamara must have been caught off guard as well if her face was any indication. The two fell backwards into the gate and it faded away, leaving behind two very surprised and worried lords.

…

"She's going to be coming back right?" Hector asked.

"… I'm… pretty sure?" said Eliwood unsurely.

Somewhere else inside the earlier somewhere

The world around them was nothing more than figurative swirls of colors. Lyn and Tamara were engaged in an epic grapple, each fighting for dominance.

Lyn twisted back and rolled Tamara above her. She sent a harsh kick to Tamara's midsection, sending the demoness flying. As Tamara was sailing through the air, she opened up all of her wings.

Lyn scrambled to her feet as Tamara landed gently on their nonexistent floor. Lyn quickly unsheathed her Mani Katti as Tamara floated gently.

Tamara was changed. Lyn could see that. An evil… no, dark aura surrounded her. Eight beautiful black claw-tipped wings extended from her back. Each would flap gently from time to time. Tamara's eyes were cold and calculating, piercing Lyn as if something horrid was in her.

"This is my true form, Lyn, the embodiment of the darkness itself." Tamara faded away and reappeared standing sideways behind Lyn. "You see. I don't exist in this world. I don't exist in any world. I am nothing… and I shall return to being nothing."

"Your wrong," Lyn gritted out as she spun around and slashed with her sword. Tamara disappeared and another version of her appeared behind Lyn again, only upside down.

"Am I really? Tell me, who am I?"

"…"

"Hard isn't it? Am I really the embodiment of darkness? Am I a friend of Mark? Do I really exist? What is existence? I am everything to one person. And yet I am nothing at all; existing but not really there."

Tamara disappeared and reappeared right in front of Lyn. She sent a spinning hook kick towards Lyn face which was dodged by Lyn leaning backwards. Using the momentum, Tamara continued her spin before dropping to her knee and sweeping Lyn's feet. Her feet were snagged and lifted into the air where Tamara grabbed her ankles and spun her around before throwing her.

Lyn was sent flying but she righted herself and braced for a landing. Falling was like moving through molasses. Lyn landed and took her battle stance. She waited for Tamara to make the first move. It's too unpredictable if she should attack and be countered. A situation like this calls for her to perform a counter.

Tamara faced Lyn. "It's about time you observe someone with a mastery over their powers," Tamara said with a superior smirk. Lyn's eyes widened as she saw the transformation in front of her.

Tamara's horns receded into her skull. Her hair grew longer and she tied it up into a ponytail. Her normally black and revealing clothing burst into flames and were replaced by the red outfit that Lyn wore in Tortuga. She became a replica of Lyn down to the swords girded at her waist. Their only differences were in their hair color and eyes.

"Surprised?" Tamara asked and laughed exactly like Lyn. Lyn's eyes narrowed as she dashed towards her foe.

Tamara took a step backwards and pulled out her sword to meet Lyn's. There were sparks as the two Mani Katti clashed. Both sides strove for dominance as they pulled back and repeatedly slashed at each other.

As their swords met for the umpteenth time, they stayed locked together as Lyn and Tamara tried to push each other back.

"Why?" Tamara growled. "What do you have that I don't have?!" An enormous amount of power was pushed through the blades and Lyn was sent flying backwards.

As soon as Lyn landed, she had to quickly bring her sword back up to meet with her opponent's weapon. All the while, while still being on the offensive, Tamara kept up her barrage of questions, though they were more taunting now.

"Are you vain? Do you pride? Perhaps you're strong? Are you wise?"

Lyn replied back angrily in kind. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

Tamara jumped and landed a distance away from Lyn. "What's your true history with Mark?"

"True history?"

"Indeed. You must have noticed. In the floating pyramid, you went through some doors and somehow managed to interact with Mark."

"How do you know?!" Lyn asked, shocked.

"Please," Tamara drawled dramatically. "You guys have been watched for quite a while now. Besides, how can it not have happened when it has already happened."

Lyn gripped her sword tighter. She wasn't getting one thing this crazy chick was spouting. The main point was clear though. This girl was deliberately standing in the way between her and Mark.

With a cry of fury, Lyn lunged at Tamara and tried to slice her in half. Tamara scoffed slightly and stepped backwards. She pivoted on her heel and hooked her opposite heel on Lyn's back. She continued the spin and sent Lyn sprawling to the ground.

"Come on Lyn. Control your emotions, don't let them control you. Surely Mark's taught even you that," Tamara taunted.

Lyn got up and spat out some blood from her mouth. "That sounds like something he'd say."

Tamara scrutinized Lyn. "Why? Why do you fight so hard?"

"Isn't it obvious? I got this far and I'm not going to just give up now."

Tamara shook her head and sighed. "You already realize that you can't win against me…"

"Hold on! Since when have I realized that?!"

"I'll tell you why. I can take on the forms of all seven deadly sins!"

Lyn reeled slightly. She's heard of Mark talking about the seven deadly sins.

_Flashback_

_"Hey Mark! What's the story for tonight?"_

_"Hmm… have I told you the one about the seven deadly sins?"_

_"Seven deadly sin? Nope, never."_

_"Okay, I'll tell you tonight."_

_End Flashback_

Lyn shook her head. Wrong memory.

_Flashback_

_"To begin the seven deadly sins, we all know what a sin is correct?"_

_A collective account of yes came from the other members._

_"The seven deadly sins are pride, wrath, envy, greed, lust, gluttony, and sloth."_

_"Hold on, what was the third one again?"_

_"Envy, Sain."_

_"Okay, okay. How about the sixth one?"_

_"…Gluttony."_

_"I see… how about-"_

_"Sain, if you don't shut up and listen, I'll make sure that you do all of the night sentry and never get a good night's sleep whenever we're at an inn," Kent threatened._

_"I'll shut up now."_

_"Anyways," Mark continued, "These sins are found in everyone. Some has more of one attribute than another. They are called the deadly sins because they are so destructive."_

_"Destructive?" Lyn asked in awe._

_Mark nodded. "Of course, I wouldn't really know because I haven't really met up with someone with a manifestation of a deadly sin."_

_End Flashback_

"Unlike Mark, who had little control over the sins, I have nearly full control." She walked towards Lyn. "Two of the most useful sins are Wrath and Envy." She disappeared and reappeared in front of Lyn. "Wrath adds enormous power," she said as she punched Lyn. Lyn brought up her sword to block the punch. Even though it didn't hit her directly, she could feel the strength behind it.

Tamara smirked. "With Envy, I know your every movement." She spun around and kicked Lyn hard in her ribs. Lyn was sent flying across the field. She gritted her teeth and bit back the pain.

"I'm not giving up," Lyn muttered as she stood back up. She spat out blood, leaving a thin trickle on her chin. '_Mark would say to look for her weakness, but just what is it? Hmm… didn't Mark say that the sins were fueled by the individual? So if I can just get rid of her sins, then I'll be able to defeat her!'_

"Tell me," Lyn said as she looked at Tamara. "What drives _you_ to be by Mark's side?" Almost immediately, Lyn felt the anger and rage radiating from Tamara soothing down.

"It doesn't matter. It's not like… yeah… as if," Tamara muttered, though she was loud enough for Lyn to hear. "Anyways, you'd best start focusing more on the battle rather than trying to find out why."

"No. How can I fight you if I don't know your beliefs? What I am fighting against?"

"Heh. He said that too didn't he?"

"Mark? Yep."

"Always was a fool. Well, Lyn, I'll give you a fighting chance. If you can withstand my emotions and still strike, then I'll let you pass. What say you to that?"

"… And if I can't?"

"Then I kill you while you're weak."

"… Fine. Let's get this started."

Tamara smiled and that just sent chills down Lyn's spine. Really, Lyn was sure that the look could've frozen beer instantly.

Lyn closed her eyes and took a breath to prepare herself. As soon as she no longer saw Tamara, she was hit with an engulfing wave. Her eyes snapped open and widened as her mouth opened for a silent scream.

"There, do you understand how I feel now?" Tamara taunted Lyn, though her voice was shaking a little.

Lyn was on her knees and convulsing slightly. Tamara walked over to her.

"So you've lost? Hmph. You should have killed me when you had the chance," Tamara whispered as she approached. Tamara stood before Lyn.

Lyn slowly stood up. Quicker than anyone could realize, the Mani Katti was protruding from Tamara's back. Blood stained the sword and gushed out of her open wound.

"I told you that I will meet up with Mark no matter what, didn't I?" Lyn asked her weakly. Tears brimmed her eyes.

Tamara's eyes were full of shock and were quickly fading. Even then, she still smiled. "I guess that you could be the one… take care… of… him. And this time… don't do… something… stupid… …. like… last… time…"

The last of the light left Tamara's eyes and the whole room collapsed. Lyn looked around her as darkness swarmed from every direction and finally engulfing her in the tranquil abyss.

When she opened her eyes, she saw the concerned faces of Eliwood and Hector.

"Lyn? Are you okay?" Eliwood asked.

"I'm fine," Lyn answered quickly. "We have to hurry. We've lost too much time here."

"You've only been gone for half a minute," Hector pointed out.

"… It felt like it was a lot longer," Lyn stated simply before walking out.

**Yeah... hopefully everyone liked this chapter. Personally, it's not one of my favorites but a necessity to continue the plot. Anyways, if anyone sees any problems, please tell me so I can go back and fix it later.**


	26. Chapter 23X: Requiem for Sins

**A bonus for Christmas... I guess? This chapter just shows some insight on Tamara's past. Gomenasai for the extremely overdue updates, but I'll hopefully be able to write more this winter break... hopefully...**

Chapter 23X: Requiem for Sins

_"Oh man I'm late!_

_"Hmm? Oh hi!_

_"You can't come out?_

_"Why not?_

_"Hmm… I know!_

_"I'll come to you!_

_"Ack! You're right! _

_"I'M SOOOOO LATE!"_

_ First encounter. He was inside the ward for the sick. He was watching me as I ran to school. We waved and I decided to visit him. Of course I ended up being late and had to go through the light chair for half the day. I didn't make it back to his ward until nearly sunset._

_Funny. I thought of so many reasons on why he had to stay in the ward all the time and never on how he felt about staying in the ward. Government conspiracies, alien targets, even because he had a hidden power that others wanted… too bad some of it was true._

_Sad. I was so sad when he was taken away. He had to go somewhere else than the ward. Then guess what?! He ended up going to my school! I was so happy! When I asked him, he said that he got someone to pull some strings._

_Surprise. I thought that he would feel strange inside a school so I endeavored to help him. He didn't seem that bothered by it even though the building was huge… as were some of the other students. He surprised everyone though. Every question the teacher called on him, he answered with amazing accuracy, even to the point of what seems like reading the teacher's mind. When asked, he just said that being bed ridden gave him time to read… then he went on to explain that when one does not utilize certain parts of the body, the remaining energy is spent to somewhere else. Since he does not walk that much in the ward, the energy is rerouted to his brain… at this point I was either brain dead or asleep. Shhh… don't tell him._

_Sad again. Even though we had a couple of months of fun, he had to leave again. He said that he needed to go somewhere far away to get stronger. I asked why. He said he didn't know. All he did know was that it will help others including me. I'm touched, but I wanted to go with him. He said that I couldn't. He said that it will be dangerous. I said that I didn't care. He said that he did… about me._

_Waiting. This takes forever. I finally managed to get the information I needed. I managed to contact his brother and he managed to get me to where he should be. Then we'll go together to meet up with him. It's been… well it felt really long to me… but finally, I'll see him again._

_Found. We found him. He was bloody, bruised, but none too worse for the wear. Of course, that's what it was like on the outside. For now though, he just smiled and welcomed us over. We caught up on what we've been doing and what we planned to do. He still wants to help others and vowed that he'll travel to the place where he's needed to help them. His brother vowed to help him in anyways he can. I promised that we'll be together… I broke that promise._

_Envy. Several years have passed and we're a bit older… not that I'm old. He's been through a lot, I can tell. He still refuses to tell me what he's been doing. He spoke of another person now. Someone called Lyn came and spent a day with him. She disappeared after a day and it's been several years since he's seen her. I'm… kind of jealous. How could he remember her so well after only one day with her several years ago? Call it a girl's heart, but I want him to think about me and only me. Selfish, I know… but I can't deny the truth._

_Lust. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think that I'm falling for him. Of course, looking back on my actions now, I can see where I've been heading since I first met him. Come on, it was classical. Meeting together by fate and destiny keeps trying to pull us apart. Then when we finally come together, he is taken by another girl and I have to try to win back his heart. Typical. I'm not sure what I like about him though. His secrecy, his seriousness, his maturity… in one word… him. I want him, and no one else._

_Greed. Am I greedy for that? For wanting more of him than I already have? Isn't it normal to have those kinds of feelings for when you're in love? Yes, I am one of the few who can actually admit that they're in love. I'm very in tune with my emotions. I can tell each one by its characteristics. But still, am I greedy for wanting his heart, something that has value incalculable? _

_Gluttony. When I'm sad, I eat. I ate back then when I was sad, and I'm eating now because I'm sad. I haven't seen him for a while. It must have been several years… either that or I have to change my calendar. Surprisingly, I don't get fat no matter how much I eat. I know… other girls have wanted my secret and some have threatened bodily harm on me. He was always there back then to stop them; we looked out for each other. Now… he's no here any more… and that just makes me want to eat more… I'm sad._

_Sloth. I just received an invitation to visit him. Not wanting to turn this down, I more or less rushed there. When I saw him, he looked depressed. Neither I nor his brother could get him out of this depression. He was moping around getting moodier and moodier. I wondered if I could have done something about it. I probably knew of one other person who might have been able to help him… but I didn't say anything about it. Was I wrong? Yes, I was. Which sin is worse? Not knowing something but trying anyways… or knowing about something but not doing anything about it? To chance ruin and destruction… or play predictability of destruction and ruin?_

_Death. Then one day, he grew brighter. I didn't know why… but I was happy for him nonetheless. That day, I got a message to go to a field. When I got there, he was there as well. We wondered what was going on, and a voice over the field told us… I was to be killed… by his hands. What happened next was a blur. He went berserk and tried to kill me when a green haired girl jumped out and fought him. She was good until she didn't see his next attack coming. Even though I was frozen with fear, I couldn't just stand by and let someone die in front of me. I pushed her out of the way and took the blow instead… Do I regret my actions? Who knows? Certainly not me for sure._

_Void. I found myself in the darkness. Was this what it was like after death? I vaguely recalled what happened afterwards. I left him to that girl. She was Lyn, I'm sure of it. Only she could possibly be… who else would step in like that. He spoke so highly of her, I was so envious. Why then did I leave him to her? I wanted to be with him… but I suppose this is for the best. Then what is this empty feeling inside of me? Truths and lies… those don't mean anything anymore in the Void. Here, everything is stripped of its taint and reduced to its full glory. Truth, heroics, light has glory… but then again… so does lies, villainy, and darkness._

_Reawakening. I felt something enter me. It was light and full of peace and comfort. Then I felt the heavy burden of life draw me back. When I open my eyes, I saw that girl, Lyn, sitting in front of me. I suppose that she meant that he brought me back to life. Why did he do that? He broke one of the biggest taboos of the world. The dead should be left for dead for a reason. Then again, this might be a chance to stay with him. Second chances in life are so rare. They should not be forsaken_

_Gone. Lo and behold, the moment I got back I found that he was already gone. Was I that drove him away every time? Was I that repulsive? I had to lay low for a while. It really draws attention when a person who's suppose to be dead is suddenly walking again. His brother was a really big help. He knew that his own brother wouldn't do something like this without reason. He hid me and together, we tried everything to find him._

_Virtues. After being unable to find anything, we decided to head out to see if anyone knew anything. By chance, or by fate, we met up with a most peculiar girl. She was older than I was, and she had powers that rivaled that of his. Just who was she? She wanted to find him too, the other half to her powers. While he ruled the powers of darkness, she ruled the ones of light. Their two powers compromised each other… and for a while, I thought that they really did compliment each other well as well._

_Undercover. We met up with someone who looked really promising. He said that he knew about him, where he was and such. Of course he was suspicious at the time, but he gave us undeniable proof. He took us to the council. They never sat well with me and still don't. They knew where he was, it was all somewhat planned. There was their first mistake, for admitting that. For now, I'll go along with their plans because it meant meeting up with him again. I'm certain that 'older brother', as I've taken to calling him that in private, was thinking the same thing. You can trust them about as much as you can trust a fox in a chicken coop. _

_Uncover. From what we found out, everything was planned from the start, making them all the more suspicious. We decided to let her in on our thoughts, she's proven trustworthy enough. For the old guy(s), we decided to leave them alone because they seem to have their own agenda. Anyways, he's gone to another world. Of course, while this was almost incredulous, it would make sense why he didn't show up when we tried to detect him. By slipping into another world, he escapes beyond the range. Looks like we're going to have to go after him._

_Plans. We had two sets of plans. One was from the council which was to proceed one way or another. We said we understood, but we didn't even read it. After all, we hand an agenda of our own. Crossing the world was easier than expected. I'm sure the technical stuff was enough to cause brains to explode, but actually crossing was easy. The other side held a dark cavernous room. On the walls were decorations of dragons. From what we could tell, this was the other world, no doubt about that._

_Assimilation. 'Older brother' was the first one sent. He was to act as a scout and tell us if it was safe to go there. As soon as he sent the message, we went through post-haste. He was already gone by the time we arrive due to some spatial-time displacement or other. I'm not good at this science stuff. A weird presence in the area stated that someone was here recently, but that was not really of any help to us. Anyways, we managed to rendezvous up at this oasis in the desert. I'm not sure how he got there first because we only found it with a detection spell traced through him. We learned the language of the world fairly quickly through an assimilation spell, though when we tried to search for him using the detection spell, we couldn't find him still. Weird._

_Legend. Before setting out to the world, we needed names apparently. That's when we heard of a legend. It was about a young boy who was able to lead a small group, much smaller than an army, to defeat countless foes of soldiers, monsters, and even myths without a single casualty or even heavy injury to his comrades. Of course, we were all impressed with this. Not only that, he was a wandering tactician, meaning that he has been around to almost everywhere. Maybe he's seen the person we're looking for._

_Reunited. We sent messages for the preparation of a selected few who are to accompany us through this world. Afterwards, we tracked down the wandering tactician. Our shadow riders got around quickly enough and they stirred up some slight trouble for the other people in hopes of drawing the attention of this legend. He showed up with his friends in the end. One look and we could tell the semblance. His friends looked strong though, so we devised a plan that would get him alone so that we would be able to approach him. _

_Awry. Somehow, our plan was messed up bad. When it was time to be implemented, the archer messed up. He struck him in the chest. We were all almost to the point of panic when that happened. Luckily, he told them to hurry off while they can, giving us the chance to rescue him. The archer committed suicide two days after that and we held a burial service as best as we can… even in this foreign land that was nowhere close to his home. Anyways, his condition after being shot was not good. The arrow managed to miss his heart completely, but it punctured his lung. Added to that, the lung had almost completely collapsed, he was suffering from internal bleeding, almost to the point of choking on his blood, and was sent into a state of serious shock. We all stayed as long as we could by his side. After all this, I just can't lose him again._

_Recovery. The old geezers were doing wonders for him actually. They managed to heal him back to almost optimal health in almost no time. However, his mental state was a really delicate situation. Due to the string of events that have happened thus far, his memory chain was probably messed up. The result was that there is little chance of him ever remembering us. On another note, the geezers didn't seem like they want to go through his mind. Even after doing… whatever they did in his mind… he still didn't remember us. In fact, he forgot everything personal and retained only enough information for basic life._

_Progress. Unfortunately, we had to report back to the council to keep them updated. We managed to hide several important events from them. It seems that they still needed the ring and dagger. Luckily, he 'gave' those away, giving us some more time. Of course, now he can't really communicate back to us. To prove his worth to the council though, we had make him go an attack his former friends._

_Hesitation. He wouldn't attack them like he would attack those in target practice. Could it be that they held on to his heart? Impossible. How could they? He suffers from what the geezers called backlash repression. When something like memory is repressed, the result can cause pain when the memory resurfaces because it tries to integrate with the already conscious mind. Is the strange feeling I'm getting trying to tell me something?_

_Departure. Well, well, they managed to get him back, even though it was all planned out. We tried delaying it as long as we could, but the council insisted, which meant we had no choice, so we could only hope for the best. His condition was still there, though I could tell that it was off. I decided to help them out. The others thought that it would probably be easiest if he massacred all of them in their sleep, but I had other plans. I still can't believe it though. After receiving my message, they still didn't find the way._

_Strange. What's this strange feeling welling up inside of me? I believe that there is something seriously wrong. I'm not going to tell this to anyone though. They have enough burdening them and some might try to play it to their advantage. I can't let that happen. I'll hold this secret for now. I'll decide to use it later._

_Pride. Could it be that my pride is standing in the way? Am I too proud to admit my mistakes? Probably… no… absolutely. Perhaps all of this could have been avoided if I just admitted my childish mistake… maybe._

_Taken back. We got him back again… but should I still refer to him as such? Either way, he seems to have regain his memory of his friends. He tried to make a break for it, but I managed to get to him alone and told him the truth. I also managed to turn him back into his human form. The poor kid was so scared probably, even though he didn't show it. He wants to find out more about this situation. He never mentioned anything about wanting to go back to his friends. Does it mean…? _

_Geezers. They died. Even though I didn't understand them, I really did feel bad for their deaths. That was just my way of dealing with their loss. Perhaps it was a bit much? Another mistake that could have been avoided had I told of my thoughts. The end draws near._

_Now. He is doing something that is not his to do. Our fates have already been tied. Even now as I am drifting off to the void, I wonder… could life have been different. Heh. Not likely. If it was different, then I wouldn't be me. There is one thing that I still regret as I float of to the endless expansion. I still haven't met with him yet…_

**And so ends another chapter. This offers a bit into Tamara's mind and thoughts. Now you know her reasons for finding Mark and something hints at more mysterious dealings. Please review to point out any mistakes such as plotholes or grammatical errors. I'll try to write more this winter, but no promises. Sorry.  
**


	27. Chapter 24: The Seven Virtues

**Sorry for the extremely and uncalled for late delay. Unfortunately, I had severe issues, most of them regarding exams and in fact am awaiting for yet another one. So, though I may have written the chapters, there was even less time to upload them. Gomenasai-yo. However, here are the next three. I hope you enjoy.**

Chapter 24: Seven Holy Virtues

In the room that was preceding the Dragon's Gate, a lone woman sat on the throne.

"So, Tamara is gone," she whispers to herself.

She stood up and straightened her clothes as she heard some noise. In less than five minutes, Lyn, Hector, Eliwood, and their group were in the room. She stared at them emotionlessly as they tensed, waiting for an attack.

"I don't suppose we can ask you to step aside, can we?" Hector asked hopefully.

"No, I'm afraid not," she replied back evenly.

Lyn narrowed her eyes. Something was wrong. The woman in front of her was radiating with a strange aura. A glint in her eyes didn't sit too well with Lyn. Something was really off in this situation.

"You won't leave here alive," she said harshly as she snapped her fingers. Suddenly, out of the ground, humanoid figures started to arise. They were blank, as they had no face and only the most limited human appearances in reference of their bodies.

"And He said, 'Let there be life!" Taran called out to the strange bodies. The bodies started to twitch and contort. They stretched as some areas sunk in and some areas bulged out. Faces were formed and amazingly, each one had a different face. All of them had one thing that was the same though. Their backs bulged and ripped. For each one, two, large, white, feathery wings emerged.

Each homunculus was now fully clothed in white robes and were carrying every type of weapon. They were angels and they were prim and primed for a fight.

"Have at them!" Taran shouted.

Immediately, everything degraded into a frenzy. More than half of the group was pushed outside to where most of the fighting was actually taking place. Of the ones that were still inside were Lyn, Eliwood, and Hector. However, they were having their work cut out as the angels were no pushovers.

Lyn ducked under a lance that was spun horizontally. Unfortunately, Wallace was standing on the other side and the lance carried enough force that it actually scratched through his armor and pushed him three feet. The grey general lost his footing, but in doing so, managed to crush the angel that he was locked against.

Of course, things couldn't be that well for everyone. Florina, who was not pushed out thanks to the constitution of her mount, was being mobbed by the angels and was having a difficult time fending them off. Luckily, Marcus and Isadora were near enough to help her up and the three rejoined the fight.

Eventually, the fight was starting to even out, even though that was only because of the experience of the members who were inside. Those who were outside were suffering more as the angels can fly and during that time, only archers and magic users and those capable of flight could do anything to them. Inside though, the angels pulled back and started a new assault.

When they started their assault though, they did something that took the members inside by complete surprise. The remaining angels rushed forward and tried to push as many of the fighters outside as they could. Even those who had mounts were pushed out by the wave.

Hector, who was so huge, yet maneuverable, managed to grab Eliwood as he was pushed by. With his larger constitution he acted as a shield against them and with he was able do avoid the stronger assaults because he had more maneuverability than the mounted units. Eliwood's horse though, was swept outside. Eliwood was not too worried though. His equine friend knew how to defend himself so there was no worry for him. He was busy defending Hector's back from angels who were planning to take a slice as they passed by.

Lyn on the other hand, was too far from Hector to use him as a shield. She was nearly swept away when the angels pushed at her. Of course, being Lyn, she didn't just stand there as they carried her to the door. Instead, she threw away the Iron Blade she was carrying and took out a Killing Edge. Now those angels were in for it. Added with the sword's perchance for critical chance and Lyn's perceptiveness after having Mark train her, the angels were quickly laid low. Most were trying in effort to avoid her.

When the last of the angels left, they closed the door and left a light rune in front of it so that no one could enter or exit. Of course, the only people who were left in the room now were Taran, Lyn, Eliwood, and Hector. The four of them stared at each other. Lyn narrowed her eyes at Taran who stared neutrally at the three lords.

"Get her!" Hector shouted as he and Eliwood rushed at her.

Despite her frail frame, she packed quite a punch, literally. She wove between their attacks and gave each of them a hard punch to the gut that sent them flying backwards. Lyn spared a look at her fallen comrades who were gasping for air.

"I've told you before. Nothing will stand in the way of our reconstruction," Taran said at them through gritted teeth.

Lyn was becoming less and less sure of herself every time she fought against one of these people. For some reason, they make her question whether what she was doing was right or not. Why?

Lyn thought back. During the fight against Nergal, there were times that they too questioned whether or not they should continue. Even against nearly impossible odds, they still continued headfast. Hector would say that he wanted to fight more; Eliwood would mutter that he must avenge his dad and that the fate of the world lies in their hands. She herself would say that only they could do this and Mark… he kept on saying that he couldn't just leave the story unfinished.

This time though, it was different. Back then, they had Mark to keep them going. Even through everything that kept happening, every despair, he kept pushing them forward. Perhaps this was because Mark was the only one who didn't deceive himself. Perhaps he was the only one who stuck to what he said. Perhaps he really meant that he couldn't leave a story unfinished.

Then what about now? Were they in the wrong? Could their actions be keeping another world from being reconstructed? Lyn shook her head. This was no time to be second guessing their actions thus far. They came here and now they're going to finish this. Just like what Mark have said, "Don't start what you can't finish."

Lyn pulled her Mani Katti out and rushed forward at Taran, though she knew to move slow enough so that she'll be able to get out of the way in time, unlike Hector or Eliwood.

Taran again wove around her attacks. Even though Lyn was more agile than her two friends, Taran moved with uncanny speed that seemed to predict her movements. When Lyn misjudged a step, Taran was already poised and ready for a heavy strike. Luckily, Lyn lifted up her sword and braced behind it as the punch connected with the flat end of the blade. Lyn was pushed back as well, but remained upright, though her friends were coming to.

Lyn looked down at her sword which was still vibrating. From one punch, the sword had already taken heavy damage. One more focused punch like that and it'll surely shatter. Lyn tightened her grip on the sword, willing it to stop vibrating. Even then, the sword still sent shivers up and down her arm. It was almost as if the sword was crying.

"You lack what it takes to defeat me," Taran stated simply as she walked forward towards them. They all took a step back to get into a defensive stance. She was unperturbed as she continued without missing a beat.

Lyn lifted her sword vertically and looked at the blade. She could attack, but more than likely, the sword will miss and Taran will retaliate, breaking the sword. Of the other swords with her, none had the mobility or power that she needed like the Mani Katti. The Sol Katti came close, but it was much too large to be maneuvered in such a close quarter fight.

"We're not done yet!" Hector shouted as he rushed at her with a Brave Ax. Hopefully, with the ax's abilities, he'll be able to maneuver better. Unfortunately, though he evaded some of her initial attacks, a spinning kick landed on the ax's head and it spun Hector out of control. Using that time, and his momentum, she grabbed his free arm and threw him across the room. Hector landed with a thud and his ax fell several feet away from him, its head now sporting a deep dent.

Eliwood and Lyn glanced cautiously at Hector to make sure that he was still alive and looked back at Taran.

"My power draws on the powers of Mercy. You cannot defeat them. Nothing can defeat them," Taran said softly, though she a tone of bitter resentment.

Lyn looked at her slightly longer. She suddenly stood up straight and relaxed her guard slightly. Eliwood looked at her wonderingly, though still keeping his stance, and Hector was looking at her as well as he got up from the floor.

"Powers of Mercy," Lyn stated. "You don't say. Somewhat like the powers of the Seven Sins?"

"… Yes."

"Then I suppose that the same restrictions apply then," Lyn stated confidently. "An antithesis attack would therefore nullify your abilities right?"

Eliwood thought for a second and a spark lit in his eyes. "I think I've got it!" He started by taking off every extra item he had except for Durandal, which he drew. Lyn noticed and shouted out for him to stop. He replied back, "The answer has been laid bare!"

With that he rushed right at Taran.

Taran just shook her head sadly. "Unleash some of thy powers!" she called out. She lifted one hand and a burst of energy erupted from underneath Eliwood, some ethereal feathers forming. Eliwood kept running at her, though not in a straight line, causing her attack to miss. She lifted her other hand and another attack came up, but it too was evaded.

Eliwood was now almost close enough to attack her with the huge sword. Suddenly, she dropped her hands as a large circle with runes formed in front of her. She traced another circle behind the one that formed with her right hand and flames lit the runes. "Luna Seal!" she cried out as blades of energy struck out at Eliwood.

Eliwood suddenly halted and brought his sword in front of him to block the attack. The energy spikes were diverged from him, keeping him relatively safe, but he was still thrown back by the force alone.

"Tougher since they're not dragons, aren't they?" Hector asked Eliwood who landed near him.

"Yeah. Almost make me wish that she was a dragon, but…"

"Ninian right?"

Eliwood just nodded while keeping his eye on Taran. She stared at them cautiously. Eliwood flinched. Something was wrong in her eyes. Over the course of many battles and countless deaths, Eliwood was no stranger to the feeling of hate as loved ones were cut down.

However, this was the first time that he's felt hatred this much. Lyn must be having it tougher. Lyn was more or less directly involved in the situation and it was only natural that she would be held accountable for both sides. Even then, it didn't make it fair.

"I've got it," Lyn said. Everyone turned their attention to her.

Lyn was kneeling on the ground with Mark's book opened in front of her. When Eliwood dropped all of his items, the book was one of them. When he said that the answer was laid bare, he meant that the book was there for Lyn to look through. He was just buying her time to find out how to beat Taran.

"You think you know how to defeat me?" Taran said through gritted teeth. "How would you know the feeling of the Sins and Virtues? Carrying the Sins is painful. Carrying the Virtues is even more so. The Sins can lay their feelings bare, but the Virtues must be kept upright, no matter the circumstances. Can you understand not feeling when you want to feel the most? Or have you lost the rest of your humanity as well?"

Lyn chose to remain silent.

"So silent? Fine then, die in silence as well!" Taran started to charge up an insane amount of energy. "Divine Spear!"

An ethereal spear was conjured up and it propelled itself at Lyn at an extreme speed.

"LYN!" Hector and Eliwood called out as they watch the spear impale her.

The spear faded away as the onlookers' faces filled with shock.

Lyn was standing there, remaining unharmed.

"How? How did you avoid my attack?!" Taran shouted at her in disbelief.

"The same way you were avoiding all of our attacks," Lyn stated back simply. "You used the gentleness of your energies, this Mercy you call, to avoid clashing without our energies and in so doing, avoiding our attacks."

The two male lords were looking at her in shock with their mouths agape. Lyn sighed in relief and continued on.

"However, it only works if the user is completely unafraid."

"I see," Taran said slowly. "Now that I understand what you just did, I'll be able to counter that. You really shouldn't let your advantages out, lest the opposition use it against you."

Eliwood and Hector were now even more shocked at Lyn.

Taran started to glow with an ethereal light of her own. Transparent feathers formed and flew around her as eight white wings emerged from her back. The four middle wings folded around her torso to form a protective barrier.

"You shall fall here!" she shouted as she rushed with amazing speed at Lyn.

Lyn, though shocked that she could run that fast in robes, gripped the Sol Katti and drew it to fight back. Taran sent a punch, but it fell short. Instead, she pulled it into a hook, and though Lyn had her sword poised to deflect an attack, the attack was not deflected and was now locked with the sword.

Extending from Taran's wrist was a purple blade. Upon closer inspection, Lyn saw that it was yet another wing, only it was made of energy. Lyn only reacted as she sensed Taran coming in for another attack with another wing blade from the other side, aimed at her abdomen. Shifting her weight, Lyn launched her self upwards, using the point the two blades were locked in together as a fulcrum.

Lyn managed to swing in a full arc over Taran, who was not expecting an attack from behind. Reversing her movement in the arc, Lyn drove her feet into Taran's back and kicked off. This caused Lyn to be launched into the air and Taran to stumble forward.

The moment Lyn landed, she spun around to face Taran. Taran, too, spun around and faced Lyn, her expression stone hard. Lyn felt more energy gathering around Taran. Suddenly, Taran disappeared.

Lyn glanced around quickly to try and spot her. By the time she's noticed that Taran was right beside her, Taran's punch was already lodged in her solar plexus and it sent her flying. Before Lyn could even register that she was punched, Taran appeared behind her and grabbed her arm. Taran swung Lyn upwards, causing Lyn to crash into the ceiling and even fracturing it.

As Lyn was falling down, not even ten feet from the high vaulted ceiling, Taran reappeared above her and slammed her foot into Lyn's back. The force drove the two straight to the ground where there was an explosion of dust and floor fragments.

When the dust cleared, Hector and Eliwood stared spellbound at the standing figure of Taran, towering over the form of Lyn collapsed on the ground. Taran turned her head slowly to face Hector and Eliwood. Both stood up and readied their weapons.

She was instantly over to them and proceeded to lash out with attacks that neither lords could keep up with. In less than two minutes, both Hector and Eliwood were on the ground, gasping for breath. Taran was standing over them without even sweating.

"This will be the end," she said softly as she gathered energy in her hand. "May she know the pain of losing a loved one."

Suddenly, a red streak slit right across her. She let out a sharp breath of air in pain but was otherwise unharmed. She turned around to see Lyn standing a fair distance way from her, tired but otherwise uninjured.

"Why won't you just die?!" Taran shouted in evident anguish as she sent the energy she was gathering right at Lyn. It passed through Lyn without leaving a scratch. "What?!" Taran shouted.

Lyn just stared at her. "You've lost," Lyn said slowly.

Everybody was frozen in place as they awaited for the next move. Taran closed her eyes, but then they snapped open in shock.

"What did you do to me?!"

"…" Lyn was silent.

Taran tried again to pool together her energy. Again she failed.

"Answer me!" she shouted as she rushed at Lyn.

"You are clouding you mind," Lyn said simply as she sidestepped Taran.

By now, Taran's movements were less coordinated and her sense of balance was, instead of being in her center, seemed to be all over the room. Lyn acted more like a teacher disciplining a student. She pointed out all of the flaws in Taran's attacks.

Eventually, Taran backed up and was breathing hard. "What did you do to me?" she asked again.

Lyn was silent at first. "… I simply stopped you from using your powers."

"!"

"The last attack I used was designed to stop one action. Of course, I had to time it correctly, but it seems that my guess was right," Lyn paused to take a breath. "You procure energy from the surroundings in order to fight at a higher level than your opponents, so when that is stopped, you are naturally reduced to being weaker!" Lyn shouted with an accusing finger pointed at Taran.

Taran looked at Lyn with wide eyes.

"Furthermore," Lyn continued. "You yourself left hints of how to by pass your own attacks." Everyone was staring at Lyn now in shock or wonder. "You said how 'nothing' can stand in the way of your attacks. Therefore, it was a clue to how to avoid them. By becoming nothingness, I could withstand those attacks!"

"How did-," Hector started to ask, but Lyn already started to answer before he could complete his question.

"Becoming nothingness is easy enough in theory. Philosophically, one can be referred to in correlation with the rest of the world by Soul and Nature. Soul is the individual and Nature is everything that is not the individual. From there, become a point of reference from neither the position of the Soul nor Nature, or adversely, become both the points of reference of both Soul and Nature."

"…Huh?"

"… I see," Taran said. "A well thought out answer. I suppose that's why He must have taken an interest in you."

Taran's wings started to fade away. "However, that doesn't mean that you've won yet."

It was now Lyn's turn to look surprise.

The wings had completely faded and a winged sword appeared in Taran's hand. "With this Divine Reaver, I'll destroy you and your soul."

Lyn was not ready for this. All of the other attacks she had precipitated for were physical, so she could at least find refuge in a shifted plane of existence, but this next attack would transcend even this plane. If it connected, she'll be on a one way trip to wherever you end up once you're decapitated, maimed, or otherwise dead.

Taran was close enough now for both of them to attack. Lyn felt so tired though. The stress of battle was taking its toll on her body and it just couldn't respond like she wanted it to. Suddenly, her ears twitched as she heard something. It was a soft melodic tune and rejuvenated her body. Not only that, she felt a boost of speed that let her see, at the last moment, the direction of the attack.

Lyn slipped through the opponent's sword as she lunged in with her own.

Everything happened in slow motion as the Sol Katti pierced through clothing and flesh.

Taran gasped and dropped her sword. It faded back into nothingness as its energy dispersed. She stumbled backwards as the Sol Katti left her abdomen. The sword was not stain with blood and she was not bleeding. Instead, white light filtered out from the wound. She clutched it as if it was painful though.

"Perhaps, not feeling pain, but knowing of it, is painful enough," she managed at say as she fell back on the throne behind her. Her voice was even and not broken, unlike others who spoke before dieing.

Her eyes stared to gloss over though and her body started to fade away. "I'm sorry sis. Gomenasai nee-chan. I… couldn't avenge you."

The rest of her body started to fade away as she looked upwards, seeing images of various importance to her. "Perhaps… I'm just not meant… to… exist…"

Taran disappeared in a cascade of lights and feathers. The three lords stared at where she once was. All of them were still shaken from having to fight her and they were all suffering inside, for they knew that each of her words had some meaning of truth behind them.

"Is it over yet?" a voice called out.

The three lords were shaken out of their stupor as they looked at Ninian and Nils who stumbled out of their hiding place.

"Looks like we're the only ones who are in here," Eliwood stated as he and Ninian drew nearer to each other.

"We have to keep on moving," Hector said.

"I agree. We can't wait for the others. They know how to handle themselves," Lyn said, concurring.

Everyone looked at each other. No words were needed to tell what had transpired. Ninian and Eliwood held each other close for support. Hector and Lyn pondered on what to do next, and Nils was just as lost. Beyond that next door lay the Dragon's Gate. All of them were connected to the place by some reason or other.

Now was not the time to lose hope. Everything is drawing to a close. Finally, after what seems to be so long, they can stop the nightmare.

**And there you have it. Taran's end. I actually like the action description in this chapter, but if anyone knows how to write better action scenes, I'm more than willing to listen.**


	28. Chapter 24X: Sonata of Virtues

**Not much to say. Hmmm... MAPLE NAPLE A' LA MODE!!... Sorry, I just had to put something.**

Chapter 24X: Sonata of Virtues

_Am I dead?_

_Is dying so bad?_

_It doesn't seem so…_

_  
That is, if I am dying…_

…

…_What? I mustn't die?…_

_Who are you to tell me that I can't die right here?_

_Who or what gave you the right to determine if I'm ready to die or not?_

_Coincident. That was what our meeting was. Pure coincidence. After all, I'm just a lowly beggar girl; you are a high prince, even if you didn't look like one, that was destined to save the world. Why would you help me? One less life here would be one less for you to take care of. But I am here? And so you will help out me still? You are… different…_

_Oasis. This was the oasis. This was one of the few in this barren land. I come here to gather materials necessary for life. However, I also come here to escape from this world. No one else knows about this oasis. This is my paradise. I wonder why then did I bring you here. Was it because you saved me? No, I am not that shallow minded. Is it because of your naivety? Is it because of your innocence? No. I can see that you are wise beyond your years and are carrying a burden much darker than anyone should, even if this was our first meeting. How did I know all this? Nevertheless, I wouldn't mind sharing this paradise… if it was with you._

_Disappearance. You went away. You never did say goodbye. Why? Was it me? Was it something that I did? I could never dwell too long on it. I always wondered if it was something that I did that drove you away. My very first friend. I wondered for since then, awaiting for the chance to meet you again. To timidly and tentatively ask if it was me who caused you to go away. Or… was it the fact that I existed?_

_Reprieve. You say to concentrate. You say that I have powers similar to you. You can perform so many fantastic feats. You are strong, yet you are kind. You have the power to be anyone you wish, yet you envy the people you become for you are not them. And you say that I have powers like that. Why? Toying with my emotions. Trying to make me feel better. Trying to make me feel special even if it was a blatant lie. Why? You held me close and told me to focus. I slapped you for trying to get close to me. Was that why you left? You came back for a while before you disappeared though. You said that it was okay even though I had apologized profusely. And yet even now… I still regret that one small action._

_Wandering. I wandered away from the oasis. I couldn't stand it there. You weren't there. It was as if you had taken the life of the oasis away with you. If you did, that was a very mean thing to do. I didn't know where I was heading. I wouldn't know until I got there. It was living life as a mystery. On more occasions than I care to remember, I thought of you laughing as I walked a path not set in stone. Somehow… that kept me going… that I was going to see you and hear your laugh again…_

_Powers. I eventually sat down and started to concentrate. When everything in my life was turned down, I turned to your advice to continue. Had you not been there, I would have lost my life during this time. Had you not met me, I would not have lived this long. With all of these thoughts flowing through my mind, I wondered. My mind was concentrated, but it wandered to the mysteries of the world. I wondered also if this was how you concentrate without concentrating on one thing. I believe that this was your power. But I also believe… that your power was much more._

_Alone. I never knew what it was like to truly be alone before. Was it a good event or an unlucky one that you were introduced into my life? Perhaps if we had never met, I would not have to be alone. I never knew of it as I knew of no one. You came into my life and everything changed in the span of only a few months. How can someone change another person so much in such a short time? However… I know that I would regret… having never met you._

_Ages. Looking back, I can see that I was probably no more than ten winters and you were probably no more than eight winters. Perhaps you were younger or I was older. Either way, as a senior in age, I should have been your savior, but no, it was the other way around. We were young, wild, and free. We never a full day's worry. No. I cannot say that. You were always thinking of others. You worry for their safety and happiness. Most of all, you worried about me, even if I was not the most important person, all that mattered to me was that you cared. Even though our ages were as such… I am… glad… that we were like this._

_Beauty. More winters have passed and I believe myself to have grown. I overhear on the streets of girls and women talking about 'fashion.' Knowing you, you would have probably complimented all of them. You could always bring out the best in someone. I should know. I was a first hand case. Still though, I don't think you'd be so shallow as to judge a person by their looks. Still… I hope that you'll notice how beautiful I've become…_

_Humility. Perhaps that was the first powers of which I learned. I learned that even if you are beautiful, there will always be those who will hate you. It does not matter who you are. It does not matter what destiny has woven for you. You will on all terms be hated. Pride and arrogance will be the downfall of everyone. However… I have faith… that you will not be drawn in._

_Journey. Once I learned of how my powers worked, I was driven to journey harder. I wanted to be more like you. You were the only person I respected. Your prowess and, more or less, you as a whole, was just something that was ethereal. I find that my descriptions of you match my powers, no matter what anyone said. You are… a being that was not of this world…_

_Outcast. I learned not to let knowledge of my powers known to others. As it had happened, I was turned away with scorn, no matter my deeds to aid the people. They viewed me with contempt, as if I were some scum that has crawled into the daylight where they reside. It is as times like these that wonder why __**you**__ put up with them. But then I remembered. It was the same reason that you put up with me. Because you were kind to all, be they living or dead. You will mourn for a friend, and if you should have to take a life, no matter how trivial, no matter if it was your enemy, you would also mourn._

_Kindness. There have been times that I wanted to destroy all of those around me. There have been times in which I felt that it wasn't worth it anymore; those who were different from me. These were the times that tried my soul. Each and every time I felt a strong desire to kill those that were in front of me. I felt the power behind my façade. Sometimes, that power scares me. It felt almost unstoppable as my body acted upon its own accord. That was when I felt another force stop me. Somehow… I like to think that it was you who stopped me._

_Siblings. Years later, I heard of news, even in these remote regions. I had heard of how the high prince had fallen, that he had killed another. I didn't believe it. I still don't believe it. You would never kill another, not without reason. I had also heard from some rather shady sources that there were two who were still looking for you. While many had condemned you for a murderer, they didn't and they were also searching to find you. I had made it my mission to find you as well, and so I decided to join up with them. During one dry day in the oasis, I met with Tamara and your brother._

_Companions. Now I had two companions who also seek what I search. We were all embarked to find you. Was it coincident that brought us together? Or perhaps it was fate? I believe that it was you who brought us together. If we all weren't searching for you, we would have never met each other. Though we antagonize each other at times, like all good companions, we were never happier, because now we have found others who were like ourselves. We have each other, who can understand our goals._

_Patience. Even if we cherished the times we had together, there were times when I wished I could just blast them into oblivion. Of course, had I done that, I would most likely have been the first one to follow after them. Tamara tested my patience to its limits as she chattered on about meaningless topics. Your brother… he was himself. Both at times tried me again and again, but I wouldn't trade them for all the riches in the world._

_Sins. Tamara was different from me as black is from white. She is loud, exuberant, able to see the light in the darkness. Perhaps that is due to her lifestyle. Perhaps it is due to her abilities. She opposes me. I can only see the darkness in this world… Maybe because one becomes accustomed to one's world, one can only see the opposing changes in it. She takes such joy in her renewed life, even though I saw that a shadow creeps and mists over her eyes whenever she does so. We are… not that different from each other._

_Undercover. Eventually, we met someone who was quite knowledgeable of the situation. He led us to the council who reveal, in part, their plans to us. That was their second mistake. Their first was the plan to use him. Once we learned of that, we started planning for a way to get him out of that situation._

_Uncover. I suppose that those two trusted me enough to impart some of their information on him. Combined with the information I had from my meetings with him, we began to weave a sensible pattern of all that had happened. The old one(s), were not in on our plans, but we figured them to be on our side for the time being. They had their own plans, but so long as they didn't interfere, then we can let it slide._

_Plan. The plan was simple. To be blunt, we merely complete the cover of the council's plan, but only enough so as not to stir any interest in our lines. We had our own plans. Oh how simple they were to be. Once we got him, we would only play along just enough until we were far enough to outrun them. We would escape to wherever we could and live there. If only we had succeeded…_

_Assimilation. The actual crossing was easy though I was sure that the precision of the warp must have taken the minds of geniuses to predict where it would go. We had sent his brother ahead as a scout. By the time we came over after his message reached us, a week had passed for him on the other side due to the time lag that happened with energy and matter as it was passed back and forth. We reached the other side to find a dark room with pictures depicting dragons. We ventured out and only found him hidden in a secluded village in the middle of a desert via tracking and locating spell. _

_Legend. By utilizing mind synch, we were able to learn the language of this world shortly. However, we required aliases before heading out. Earlier on, Tamara and I had already picked out our names. Sadly, our third member had yet to come up with one. The girl that had kindly housed us suggested several and eventually landed on one named Mark. After inquiring about that name, we found out that he was a wandering tactician and as such would have seen much on his travels. He might have seen our target. _

_Reunited. We sent word back for some troops that we had hand picked to help on the mission. By stirring conflict here and there, we were able to draw him out. One look and we saw the semblance. However, he had an army with him and if we knew him like we did, we knew that his army was strong and nearly impossible to defeat. He is the one that makes the impossible possible._

_Awry. Our plan was to capture him. However, first we had to separate him from his friends. We had hoped that by injuring him enough, it would cause his friends to search for their healers. The archer lost his nerve and launched his arrow too soon. His heart was nearly impaled, but I believe that he actually moved his heart to avoid the arrow. Either way, at that point we were near panic but we managed to get him safely stabilized. Unfortunately, the soldier who shot the arrow committed suicide to atone for his actions. I do not believe that death is atonement. Rather, death is merely an escape and that living is to atone for one's sins, though he had committed none._

_Recovery. He was healed soon after by the 'Wise Ones' as I had taken to calling them. Indeed the term befitted them as they were wise beyond any mere lifespan. The recovery was relatively quick, but for all of us, it was painfully slow. Even then we feared of what would happen when he awoken. Perhaps this was why we, or I at least, hoped that he delayed opening his eyes for as long as he could. I feared that he would be different when he woke up._

_Diligence. Only by perseverance did I stand to see him awaken. Had it been for any weaker will, I probably would have avoided him like the plague. Once he had awakened though, I noticed that something was wrong. He was not as vibrant… nay, perhaps I should state that he was not alive inside. The Wise Ones said that they repaired him as best they could, but his mind was still locked inside. I saw something underlying their words but had not definite proof and therefore kept silent. Perhaps had I spoken then, this could have all been avoided._

_Hesitation. I knew my suspicions were correct when I saw him hesitate when he was fighting against his friends. He did not fight to kill, rather he seemed as if he would actually lay down and die for them but just wasn't in enough control to do it. To someone who only fought him and had an untrained eye, he would seem to be immensely powerful. However, I am not like the others. I saw blatant mistakes that I knew he should not make, but did so repeatedly. Why? Even then, I hesitated to inform this to the others._

_Temperance. By now we had to initiate the most risky part of the plan. Though I was tempted, I decided not to do anything, even now. He was to be returned to his friends, if not for a little while. We had to make sure that he acquired the items back as they were needed for the council's plans to work. I did not believe that we should have let him go. None of us did, but we had to keep the façade up to fool the council. I wonder, are we playing the council or are they playing us? Which one of us is actually manipulating the other? And which ones are the pawns?_

_Charity. I am not a generous person, but I made sure to promise this as a resolution. I promised to pay back the council for all of their meddling with interest. All of this could have been done cleanly without any life lost at all, no life sacrificed nor torn asunder. However, this was only to further the ambitions of the council members. They are responsible for everything, every pain that we have suffered. And even more so, they had inflicted even worse pains on him._

_Chastity. I cannot say that I was impressed. They got him back, or maybe they were happier that they managed to retrieves the items. He came back with all of his memories intact though I don't know how. He was startled at first and actually attempted to fight back. Tamara took him into a room to explain everything to him. When they emerged, he was back to normal, losing his form of Lust, but I felt nothing from Tamara. As her Half's Opposite, I should have been able to sense a change, but there was nothing. She was just as chaste as the day I met her._

_Nostalgic. Different, but essentially the same is the phrase to describe him. His mannerisms and thoughts all provoked a profound emotion in me that reminded me of those days in the oasis. He was laid back with seemingly no care in the world, but was always watching to see if any could be bettered. He was interested in militarilistics but wanted them to not kill. He followed by a different rule that he wanted to avoid killing. His opponents were just as important as his own troops. At times like these, he reminds me of the past, and I wonder just how much he and that past him had went through._

_Wise Ones. They died. Tamara insulted them even after that and I can partially understand her. This was her way of grieving. She focused on something else instead of being sad. Happiness was too strong and would not fit, there for she believed that if she made herself as much of a nuisance as possible, perhaps she can escape her sadness. Their death was a major blow militarily, but not a heavy one. Despite that, I too felt sorrow for their loss. They were wise and had often mentored me in many ways. I felt connected to them in a similar fashion to how I was mentally with him._

_Promises. My life was a life of broken promises. I broke nearly every promise that I made or that were made to me. Perhaps this is my punishment for my sins. Despite the fact that I represent the exact opposite of the sins, I too am tarnished just as how Tamara and he were tainted with light. No, I dare not say he was tainted with light. He was just as tainted with light as he was with darkness. Either way, I was unable to keep my promises. I have not paid back the council for their actions with interest. I have not kept my promise to avenge Tamara. And, I have not kept the promise of meeting up with him again one day… _

**And so ends Taran's memories. How sad... No really, I actually teared up a bit when writing this. She is a typical tsundere (character who acts tough but is actually quite weak inside). **


	29. Chapter 24XX: Chorus of Twilight

**This is the last one for this set so far. I apologize for it being so short, but this is not really considered a chapter to me.**

**Just for those who don't understand XX, it means that if certain conditions are met, then this chapter plays, like the Gaiden Chapters in the game. The conditions for this chapter... well maybe reading the earlier x chapters. Besides, if you've read the story this far, then I think you deserve to know what happened on Mark's side. I just hope this chapter doesn't turn you off the story.  
**

**So this chapter is actually right after the previous chapter, but encompasses to the time of when the dagger was taken back.**

Chapter 24XX: Chorus of Twilight

Mark groaned in agony as he wondered for the umpteenth time why he was there. The answer was always the same. He wanted to protect his friends. That was the only reason that he was there. If it was probably any other reason, he would have laughed, scoffed, and spat in the perpetrator's eyes before being made to suffer like this.

He didn't really want to go through with the plan because it sounded extremely tiring, painful, and mostly, because he was lazy. Still, if he was to have an advantage in the next move, it was a necessary sacrifice. After all, how many times had his army sacrificed for him? It was only natural.

Still, after hearing the plan and having to come up with his own on such limited time and resources, he almost wished that he was the other Mark. His memory is still foggy but he was quite sure that none of it involved inter-dimensional travel.

There are several reasons that he came up with the discrepancies. One, humans just don't jump through dimension. Two, even if he did, he didn't have a passport. Perhaps he was just someone who was dead but in this world not. No that couldn't be it. The dead couldn't just come back, it was illegal.

Mark shook his head. Whenever he was pressed and stressed, he always came up with random thoughts. It's been a while since he came to the island, but he was blacking out every five minutes so he couldn't really understand what was happening. He tried to recollect his thoughts before he could black out again. At least this way he would have a head start and not have to go through more delusions the next time he woke up.

First, his 'brother' took him to the island via a transport seal. There they began to set up the runes needed to operate the gate. Technically, any gate would have worked, but this one was special in that it was already transcending dimensions and so it wouldn't take as much work to set it up, only to a different direction.

Directly in front of the gate was a series of seventeen concentric circles. Each was complex, different, and detailed down to each red written stroke. Mark helped to set some of them up by following diagrams. For his plan to succeed, he would need to go through everything first and time it so that the end result would be exactly as how he planned. Sure Murphy's Law of what can go wrong will go wrong still applies, but Mark was sincerely hoping that now was not one of those times. However, if everything is falling exactly as how it should happen based on his information then the plan should work.

After preparations were done, he pulled on the ring and drew the dagger. However, he made the unfortunate mistake of forgetting to limit himself. As such, the energy flowing from each rune in the room pooled together and knocked him unconscious. Thus was the plan delayed until he woke up, which wasn't for several more hours after his body finally filtered all of the excess energies.

Once that happened, he forced himself to stand up and continue the ritual. If the stories about him were true, then he would never have failed in the face of unparalleled difficulties. He tried again to unlock the door and only succeeded to the point where then energy flowed around him. He couldn't sustain the flow for long however, though he kept the runes glowing before the fell unconscious again.

Memories flooded his mind though he couldn't tell one from another. None of them made sense and he could tell that none of them belonged to him. Why then did he feel despair at the thought of them?

Upon awakening, several hours later, he was facing the ceiling which had a skylight. The sun was directly overhead and was blinding him. Without thinking, he reached up to block the light from his eyes. He felt his hand burning and quickly sat up to see what had happened.

As he opened his hand, he saw that he was holding a small orb of light. It swirled and flickered like the sun. All too soon though, the ball faded away, though he could tell where it went. He felt as its power and energy coursed through him.

It was a slightly warm feeling at first, but that was only the façade of the sun. Mark knew the true face of the light and the prowess of the light proved itself soon enough. Mark felt the unbridled pain as the light pierced through him, destroying him inside out. Mind, soul, heart, and body.

When he finally came to, he saw everything in the room with a slightly darker countenance. It slightly disturbed him, but it also gave him a sense of comfort. It was disturbingly refreshing from the whole experience with the light from earlier.

He was still on the ground, but he welcomed the darkness in with a glad euphoria. The darkness was calming to a degree. It was soothing. He would rather the darkness over the light any day. Not to say that the light wasn't great in its own sense, he was just more attuned to the darkness.

He went black once more.

Finally, he came to again. This time, he could tell that it was the final time for him to open the door. His 'brother' seemed to be expecting this as well.

Mark stood in front of the door and concentrated. Hopefully everything would go right. He could tell, and had confidence, that this would be the last time that he would ever see his friends on this world again. Oh well. Might was well make the best of it.

-

"Come on everyone," Nils call out. "We have to end this once and for all."

"Right," Hector said. "For the sake of the world once again, we have to solve this."

"For the sake of the people we love," Eliwood said.

"For our sake as well," Ninian replied.

"Also for Mark's sake," Lyn finished, "We will see this through to the end."

**Short, but it summarizes up what has been transpiring on Mark's side. Not much happened except him being knocked out. Somewhere in his mind he is probably shouting "Don't get too comfortable!" but he probably isn't heeding it because he's already comfortable on the ground.**

**Really, being on the ground isn't comfortable. I know from experience. I prefer to be in a secure area, most preferrably comfortable before I sleep.**

**Oh well. I hope you've enjoyed these updates, but once again I'm not too sure of when the next one will be. I have everything planned out and I know exactly how everything is going to fall into place, but I'm going to have to find the time to type it up, which won't be until after this week at least. **

**I know this sounds a lot like an excuse, and I will be the first to say that it is, but it'll be a while before I can update again. Sorry. Know this though, I will finish this... eventually.**

**One final note. Actually, I'm writing this last line just to make up for the shortness of the chapter. Please review.**


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